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THE  HISTORY 
OF  THE  PLAYER 

BY 

JOHN  McTAMMANY 


NEW  YORK 
iai3 


Oo 


L 


^%<=\ 

^^3uSV^ 


August  2g,  1913. 


Mr.  Gustave  Behning, 

Chairman  McTammany  Testmonial  Fund  Committee, 


New  York,  N.  Y. 


Dear  Mr.  Behning — In  order  to  show  the  appreciation 
of  the  Musical  Courier  Extra  for  the  work  that  John 
McTammany  has  done,  not  only  as  the  inventor  of  the 
Player  Piano,  hut  in  advancing  its  interests,  and  especially 
in  his  efforts  to  clear  the  atmosphere  as  regards  patents 
pertaining  to  the  Player  Piano,  we  offer  to  the  McTam- 
many Testimonial  Fund,  one  thousand  {1,000)  bound 
copies  of  Mr.  McTammany' s “History  of  the  Player,"  to 
he  used  by  the  Fund  Committee  in  any  way  that  may  add 
to  the  fund.  Will  you  allow  us  to  suggest  that  it  might 
assist  to  have  these  copies  numbered  and  autographed  by 
Mr.  McTammany? 

Very  truly  yours, 

William  Geppert, 

Editor  the  Musical  Courier  Extra. 


New  York,  September  3,  1913. 

Mr.  William  Geppert, 

Editor  Musical  Courier  Extra, 

437  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 

Dear  Sir — Your  esteemed  favor  of  August  29,  wherein 
you  tender  this  committee  1,000  copies  of  the  “History  of 
the  Player,"  by  John  McTammany,  free  of  charge,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Testimonial  Fund,  is  received.  Please  ac- 
cept the  hearty  thanks  of  the  committee  for  your  gener- 
ous contribution,  which  is  very  highly  appreciated  indeed. 

The  McTammany  Testimonial  Fund  Committee, 
William  Mill  Butler,  Secretary. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


\ 


https://archive.org/details/historyofplayerOOmcta 


JOHN  McTAMMANY. 


There  have  been  only  looo  copies  printed 
of  this  work  and  the  plates  destroyed. 


This  book  is  number 


^00 


( Signed i 


PREFACE 


In  the  shadow  of  death  this  volume  was  written; 
with  one  hand  I held  the  grim  monster  at  bay,  while 
with  the  other  I traced  the  tortuous  pathway  of  the 
player  as  it  wended  its  weary  way  hack  and  forth 
across  the  continent,  passing  through  State  after 
State,  from  city  to  city  and  from  one  factory  to 
another,  seeking  some  friendly  roof  that  would  af- 
ford it  a shelter,  not  only  from  the  rigors  of  the 
seasons,  but  from  that  which  was  infinitely  worse 
and  harder  to  endure,  to  wit:  the  jibes  and  jeers 
and  snubs  and  sneers  of  those  who  fain  would  pose 
today  as  its  friends  and  defenders. 

At  that  time  the  player  had  no  friends;  it  was  an 
outcast  and  every  man's  hand  seemed  to  he  against 
it.  Like  Christ,  it  came  unto  its  own,  but  its  own 
received  it  not.  So  having  traversed  the  country 
over,  from  East  to  West  and  back  again  in  quest  of 
a manufacturer  or  capitalist  who  could  appreciate 
the  merits  of  the  invention,  hut  without  success,  the 
player  and  its  luckless  inventor  finally  took  up  their 
abode  in  a garret  on  Tremont  street,  Boston,  Mass., 
opposite  Park  Street  Church,  where  the  player  as 
an  industry  may  be  said  to  have  been  born,  and  the 
practicability,  desirability  and  saleability  of  the  in- 
vention determined. 


While  I was  confined  from  February  15  to  May  15, 
1913,  in  the  Military  Hospital  at  Noroton  Heights, 
Conn.,  this  work  was  written,  and  during  the  first 
month  of  my  presence  there  it  was  a question  in  my 
own  mind  whether  or  not  I should  emerge  from  that 
institution  alive.  Occasionally,  while  writing,  my 
eyes  would  grow  dim.  The  building  would  seem 
to  be  rocking  on  its  foundation,  and  I would  grasp 
the  little  stand  by  my  cot  to  steady  myself,  and  at 
such  a moment  I would  ask  myself  the  question, 
whether  the  effort  was  worth  the  while.  Then  the 
heart  would  resume  its  functions,  my  pulse  would 
begin  to  beat  again,  and  hope,  that  like  a ''star  by 
night  and  a pillar  of  fire  by  day,''  had  ever  illumined 
my  pathway,  would  return,  and  again  I would  renew 
my  task  and  plod  on. 

So,  if  this  work  is  not  up  to  standard  pitch,  if  it 
does  not  compare  with  my  previous  writings,  if  it  is 
wanting  in  literary  style,  and  is  deficient  in  other 
respects,  too  numerous  to  mention,  then  let  the  read- 
er take  into  consideration  my  physical  condition, 
my  age  and  environment.  In  a work  of  such  lim- 
ited proportions  it  was  impossible  to  refer  to  all 
those  who  have  been  instrumental  in  the  subsequent 
improvement  and  development  of  the  player,  after 
it  passed  from  my  hands,  and  such  improvements 
have  been  many  and  important,  but  coincident  with 
the  printing  of  the  last  chapter  of  the  present  work 
I will  begin  the  publication  of  the  technical  history 


of  the  player  which  will  appear  first  in  serial  order 
in  the  Musical  Courier  Extra  and  subsequently  in 
book  form. 

In  writing  the  technical  history  of  the  player  I 
will  take  up  each  patent  both  foreign  and  domestic 
in  regular  chronological  order,  pointing  out  exactly 
what  the  claims  of  each  patent  cover  and  the  amount 
of  credit  due  each  inventor  in  connection  with  the 
player. 


John  McTammany. 


Copyright,  1913, 
by 

John  McTammany, 


Blumenberg  Press,  Printers,  New  York. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  reader  may  feel  as  he  enters  upon  a perusal  of 
this  little  work  and  brief  history  of  the  player  that 
it  breathes  too  much  of  the  spirit  of  war;  that  hell  and 
harmony  are  an  ill-matched  pair.  But  war  is  hell,  never- 
theless. So  said  Gen.  Sherman.  And  it  was  in  the  midst 
of  hellish  surroundings,  and  while  convalescing  upon  a 
cot  in  a military  hospital  in  the  South  that  my  mind  was 
opened  at  least  in  a minor  degree  to  the  possibility,  prac- 
ticability and  desirability,  of  an  instrument  operatable  by 
means  of  a perforated  device.  It  follows,  therefore,  that 
the  history  of  the  war  and  the  history  of  the  player  are 
one  and  inseparable. 

That  it  was  by  reason  of  a series  of  incidents,  accidents 
and  happenings  that  took  place  while  I was  at  the  front 
and  over  which  I had  little  or  no  control  that  I was  led 
on,  step  by  step,  in  the  development  of  the  player  until  I 
returned  from  the  war  and  my  subsequent  experiments 
were  conducted  while  travelling  from  State  to  State,  city 
to  city,  until  in  the  winter  of  1875  I finally  landed  in  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  where  my  ten  years'  thought  and  experi- 
ment on  the  subject  culminated  in  the  construction  and 
public  exhibition  of  the  first  player  that  ever  came  from 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

the  hand  and  brain  of  man  as  far  as  the  records  of  this 
country  or  Europe  disclose  to  the  contrary. 

But,  furthermore,  the  reader  may  feel  that  the  story 
might  have  been  told  with  less  circumstance  and  detail, 
and  that  is  true,  but  my  defence  against  that  charge  is 
this:  That  the  player  having  been  the  subject  of  so  much 
controversy,  discussion,  assertion,  and  denial,  even  mis- 
representation and  falsehood,  that  in  order  that  the  reader 
may  fully  understand  the  real  facts  and  wishing  to  put 
an  end  to  all  future  controversy  on  the  question,  I have 
elected  to  present  the  matter  in  such  a manner  as  will 
fully  convince  the  unprejudiced  reader  of  the  reasonable- 
ness of  my  narrative  showing  how  one  act  in  the  drama 
logically  and  inevitably  led  up  to  the  next,  advancing  from 
one  position  to  another,  step  by  step,  in  regular  and  nat- 
ural order,  submitting  documents  and  evidence  in  support 
of  my  position. 

This  requires  that  we  take  a look  backward,  but  I 
need  not  apologize  for  that  in  view  of  the  fact  that  one 
of  the  strongest  propensities  of  our  human  nature  is  the 
inclination  to  hark  back  to  the  days  of  our  fathers.  “Back- 
ward, turn  backward,  O time  in  thy  flight,”  sang  the  poet. 
And  that  feeling  is  one  of  the  noblest  desires  planted  in 
the  human  breast  and  the  tendency  is  not  only  natural,  but 
universal.  Marvel  not,  therefore,  if  I carry  the  reader 
back  to  the  scenes  and  incidents  of  the  Civil  War,  the  times 
of  our  ancestors,  when  American  institutions  were  reeling 
on  their  foundations  and  the  Ship  of  State  was  breaking 
away  from  her  moorings  and  was  drifting  toward  the 
rocks  of  disunion  and  in  danger  of  being  irremediably 
shipwrecked. 

At  that  time,  the  nation  was  making  history  at  a fear- 
ful pace,  history  written  in  the  crimson  gore  of  her  slaugh- 


2 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


tered  sons.  And  it  is  peculiarly  fitting  that  we  should  re- 
call those  days  at  this  time,  it  being  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  Civil  War,  the  time  that  tried  men’s  souls;  a time 
when  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the 
people  was  in  danger  of  perishing  from  the  earth.  And 
it  was  at  such  a time  and  under  such  untoward  circum- 
stances that  was  created  the  conditions  that  made  the 
player,  the  subject  of  this  work,  a possibility.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  the  player  was  an  invention  of  the  Nine- 
teenth century,  and  came  into  being  amid  the  stress  and 
struggle  of  war  during  the  rattle  of  musketry,  clash  of 
steel  and  din  of  battle.  So  as  the  pure  white  lily — ^the 
emblem  of  purity  and  peace — springs  upward  from  the 
ooze  and  slime  of  its  watery  environment  to  greet  the 
sunlight  and  the  stars  and  disclose  to  the  view  of  human- 
ity its  pure  white  petals,  so  the  player  sprung  up  in  the 
midst  of  the  wreck  and  ruin  that  marked  the  progress  of 
our  civil  war;  came  into  being,  as  it  were,  as  a harbinger 
of  peace  and  protest  against  the  atrocities  and  bloody 
carnage  that,  for  a time,  threatened  to  destroy  the  nation 
and  dissever  the  Union. 

Such  were  the  circumstances,  and  such  my  environment 
at  the  time  I got  my  first  conception  of  the  player  prin- 
ciples, and  it  was  at  such  a time  that  the  determination 
was  formed  to  follow  my  idea  to  the  end,  no  matter  where 
its  development  might  lead.  And,  to  say  the  least,  it  cer- 
tainly led  me  a merry  dance. 

For  there  was  hardly  a hardship,  that  can  be  conceived, 
not  a trial  or  tribulation  that  can  be  imagined,  incident  to 
the  life  of  an  inventor,  that  I did  not  experience  during 
the  ten  years  I was  engaged  in  its  development.  And 
there  is  scarcely  a trial  or  misfortune  that  a litigant  be- 
fore the  bar  could  be  subjected  to  that  I did  not  endure 


3 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

during  the  next  twenty  years  that  I was  battling  in  the 
courts  or  defending  the  player  through  the  press. 

It  has  been  said  that  necessity  is  the  mother  of  inven- 
tion. But  while  such  is  not  necessarily  the  case,  yet  it  may 
be  said  with  truth  that  necessity  was  the  mother  of  the 
player  mechanism.  I employ  the  term  player  mechanism  as 
it  is  broad  enough  to  include  reed  and  pipe  instruments,  as 
well  as  the  piano  or  string  devices.  My  mechanism  was 
applicable  to  each  and  all  of  them. 

And  it  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  I,  as  a soldier,  re- 
ceived injuries  in  the  line  of  duty  during  the  progress  of 
the  war  which  unfitted  me  from  following  my  regular  oc- 
cupation and  compelled  me  to  choose  some  less  strenuous 
employment  to  earn  my  livelihood  than  I had  previously 
followed  that  ultimately  led  up  to  the  discovery  of  the 
player  principles  and  to  its  final  development. 

Nor  should  we  forget  that  the  music  trades,  in  common 
with  other  industries,  were  considerably  in  evidence  during 
the  civil  strife  betv/een  the  States;  that  upon  the  bloody 
battlefields  of  the  South  the  music  dealer  of  Dixie  and  the 
piano  manufacturer  of  the  North,  faced  each  other  and 
fought  and  fell  in  defense  of  what  they  believed  to  be 
the  right  and  today  their  bodies  lie  side  by  side  among 
the  unidentified  dead  in  the  neglected  and  forgotten 
trenches  of  the  South,  the  dust  of  the  Blue  and  the  Gray 
mingling  together  beneath  the  swaying  cedars  and  sigh- 
ing pines  of  the  Southland  and  in  those  trenches  had  fate 
so  decreed  might  also  be  sleeping  today  the  sires  and  an- 
cestors of  some  who  are  prominent  in  the  music  trade  to- 
day, a Mehlin,  a Werlein,  a Hutchins,  or  a Crew,  and 
Many  others  I could  name.  The  fact,  therefore,  that  the 
player  came  into  existence  in  and  through  the  war  and 
the  additional  fact  that  it  is  bound  to  supersede  the  con- 


4 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


ventional  piano  makes  the  origin  and  history  of  the  player 
a matter  of  supreme  interest  to  the  musical  industries  and 
the  world  at  large,  for  of  all  the  inventions  that  have 
been  conceived  by  mortal  man,  the  player  piano  is  the  one 
that  is  nearest  and  dearest  to  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  world. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  I was  employed  by  a manu- 
facturing concern  at  Uniontown,  Stark  County,  Ohio, 
where  they  produced  a line  of  agricultural  implements. 
At  that  time  the  reaper  and  mower  were  in  their  infancy 
and  like  all  complicated  machines  were  prone  to  become 
deranged,  requiring  frequent  repairs,  which  usually  re- 
sulted in  a visit  to  our  works  to  have  them  put  in  order 
again. 

I became  greatly  interested  in  the  invention  and  recog- 
nized its  far-reaching  possibilties.  Seeing  this,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  work  assigned  all  the  reaper  repair  work  to 
me.  That  gave  me  the  desired  opportunity  to  study  its 
mechanism  and  familiarize  myself  with  its  principle,  con- 
struction and  operation.  But  the  more  I contemplated  its 
mechanism,  the  more  I realized  its  defects  and  imperfec- 
tions and  the  need  of  further  improvement.  Canton, 
Ohio,  the  county  seat  of  Stark  County,  was  twelve  miles 
south  of  us,  and  Akron,  Summit  County,  was  ten  miles  to 
the  north,  and  these  were  the  centers  and  hotbed  of  reaper- 
dom,  at  the  time  to  which  I refer,  and  I was  personally 
acquainted  with  several  of  the  men  who  had  distinguished 
themselves  as  inventors  in  connection  with  the  reaper. 
And  as  I studied  the  machines,  day  after  day,  I thought  I 
saw  an  opportunity  to  improve  them.  That  is  where  the 
vanity  and  egotism  of  John  McTammany  comes  in,  and 
when  the  reaper  men  visited  our  works,  as  they  frequently 
did,  I suggested  to  them  as  much.  But  being  but  a boy 


5 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


they  resented  my  suggestions  as  presumptuous  and  dis- 
missed my  suggestions  with  contempt.  That  is  where  the 
presumption  and  egotism  of  the  reaper  men  came  in.  The 
snub  administered  by  them  hurt  my  pride  and  aroused  my 
resentment  and  only  tended  to  strengthen  my  determina- 
tion to  take  up  the  further  improvement  of  the  reaper,  and 
to  this  end  I devoted  every  moment  I could  spare  from  my 
regular  duties  to  experimenting,  and  from  that  time  on, 
almost  every  reaper  or  mower  that  entered  the  establish- 
ment went  out  again  with  some  alteration  or  improvement. 

I finally  reached  the  stage  where  I felt  confident  that  I 
could  build  a better  reaper  than  anything  on  the  market, 
and  I had  seen  and  studied  most  of  them.  So  I proceeded 
to  get  up  a set  of  working  drawings  with  the  intention  of 
embarking  in  the  reaper  business,  having  the  backing  of 
the  proprietor  of  the  works  in  whose  family  I lived  at  the 
time,  and  who  had  unbounded  confidence  in  my  mechanical 
judgment. 

But  just  then  something  came  to  pass  that  put  an  end  to 
all  my  plans  and  projects  and  caused  me  to  end  my  ex- 
perimenting and  lay  my  reaper  plans  and  specifications 
upon  the  shelf  and  shoulder  a musket  in  defence  of  my- 
home  and  State. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


CHAPTER  II 

IT  was  in  the  month  of  June,  1863,  that  Gen.  John  H. 

Morgan,  a Confederate,  cut  loose  from  the  army  of 
General  Bragg,  in  Tennessee,  and  upon  his  own  respon- 
sibility determined  to  carry  the  war  into  the  North.  A 
force  was  organized  under  Gen.  Judah  and  other  Union 
generals  then  located  in  Kentucky,  with  instructions  to 
intercept  Morgan  and  his  raiders,  and  prevent  him  from 
crossing  the  Ohio,  but  without  avail,  for  Morgan  was  on 
the  alert  and  outwitted  his  pursuers,  thwarting  all  their 
plans  and  before  he  could  be  overtaken,  reached  the  Ohio 
river,  captured  steamboats  and  crossed  to  the  northern 
side. 

The  thought  that  there  was  an  invading  army  north  of 
the  Ohio  created  the  wildest  excitement,  not  only  through- 
out Ohio,  but  transfixed  the  attention  of  the  whole  nation. 
We  had  not  forgotten  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  and 
the  three  days’  bloody  carnage  at  Gettysburg.  As  a result, 
every  man  or  boy  who  could  shoulder  a gun  sprang  to 
arms,  to  the  end  that  Ohio  and  Ohio’s  homes'  should  be 
defended. 

There  was  a company  of  militia  located  in  our  neigh- 
borhood, known  as  the  Uniontown  Home  Guards,  of  which 

7 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

my  father  was  a member,  and  this  company  was  ordered 
out  by  the  Governor.  My  father  being  absent  from  the 
State  at  the  time,  I volunteered  to  take  his  place  and  was 
accepted.  The  company  was  ordered  to  report  at  Canton, 
Ohio,  the  county  seat  of  Stark  County.  On  our  arrival 
there  we  were  put  aboard  flat  cars  and  taken  to  Alliance. 
There  we  were  informed  that  Morgan  had  crossed  the 
Ohio  at  Portsmouth  and  was  marching  north  with  Alliance 
for  his  objective  point,  and  we  were  ordered  to  obstruct 
him.  But  Morgan  never  reached  Alliance ; he  having  been 
captured  with  his  whole  band  at  Lisbon,  Columbiana 
County,  a short  distance  south  of  Alliance. 

The  number  of  men  under  Morgan’s  command  was 
insignificant,  but  we  did  not  know  at  the  time  whether  he 
was  in  command  of  an  army  of  i,ooo  or  100,000,  nor  would 
the  fear  and  apprehension  been  any  greater  if  he  had 
been  in  command  of  an  army  of  1,000,000  men.  Morgan 
and  his  men  were  taken  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  the  capital  of 
the  State,  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  the  Uniontown  Com- 
pany, of  which  I was  a member,  was  ordered  home  and 
disbanded.  Thus  I had  my  first  taste  of  military  service 
and  like  the  first  taste  of  several  other  things  it  was  bound 
tol  be  followed  by  others.  So  upon  my  return  home  I 
began  to  take  a deeper  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  war 
and  was  correspondingly  less  concerned  in  my  inventions. 
I came  to  feel  that  the  country  had  more  need  of  soldiers 
than  inventors  and  I so  notified  the  proprietor  of  the 
establishment  where  I was  employed,  requesting  him  to 
find  some  one  to  take  my  place  as  I had  made  up  my  mind 
to  go  to  the  front. 

But  when  I reported  to  the  examining  surgeon,  and  he 
took  my  measurements,  it  was  found  that  I did  not  come 
up  to  the  physical  requirements,  and  he  therefore  refused 
8 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


me  a certificate  to  the  mustering  officer.  Still  I was 
determined  to  go  and  visited  one  recruiting  officer  after 
another  until  I was  finally  mustered  into  the  115th  O.  V.  L, 
and  went  to  the  front  where  our  regiment  was  assigned  to 
guard  and  protect  the  Nashville  & Chattanooga  Railroad 
from  Nashville  to  Murfreesboro  and  below. 

It  was  the  duty  of  our  regiment  to  patrol  the  railroad, 
man  the  blockhouses  erected  at  each  bridge  along  the 
line,  and  keep  up  communication  by  carrying  dispatches 
between  the  army  at  Nashville  and  the  forces  below.  The 
duel  between  Sherman  and  Hood  at  Atlanta  had  been 
fought  to  a finish;  the  city  was  reduced  to  a smouldering 
ruin.  Sherman  had  started  on  his  famous  march  to  the  sea, 
whereupon  Hood  gathered  his  shattered  battalions  together 
and  started  to  invade  the  North.  In  the  meantime,  Gen. 
Thomas  had  been  instructed  to  organize  an  army  and 
intercept  Hood  at  Nashville.  When  Gen.  Thomas  finally 
got  ready  to  attack  Hood  he  issued  an  order  for  our  regi- 
ment to  destroy  the  block  houses,  abandon  the  railroad 
and  retreat  to  Nashville  or  Murfreesboro.  And  it  was  in 
carrying  this  despatch  of  Gen.  Thomas  between  block- 
house No.  6 and  No.  7 on  the  Nashville  and  Chattanooga 
Railroad,  before  the  battle  of  Nashville,  that  I received 
the  principal  injuries  that  laid  me  low,  landed  me  in  the 
hospital,  and  at  last  placed  my  name  on  the  invalid  list  of 
the  United  States  army.  It  also  eventually  resulted  in  my 
discovery  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  player. 

I had  been  injured  before,  on  one  or  two  occasions,  but 
this’  was  the  first  time  I was  forced  to  enter  a hospital,  a 
place  for  which  I always  entertained  a holy  horror, 
although  at  Nashville  no  man  could  ever  have  been  treated 
better  than  I.  Later  I was  transferred  to  the  hospital  at 
Tulahoma,  subsequently  to  Nashville  and  finally  to  the 


9 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


hospital  at  Camp  Dennison,  Ohio,  from  which  I was  dis- 
charged in  the  fall  of  1865. 

Now  at  the  time  of  my  enlistment  I had  planned,  should 
my  life  be  spared,  and  I should  return  from  the  war,  to 
go  on  with  the  development  of  my  reaper.  But  the  reaper 
had  been  greatly  improved  in  the  meantime;  the  things  I 
had  contemplated  doing,  others  had  done.  I was,  so  to 
speak,  a back  number.  No  longer  was  I in  the  game. 
And,  furthermore,  the  exploitation  of  the  reaper,  in  those 
days,  was  a pretty  strenuous  occupation,  and  only  large, 
strong  and  husky  men  had  any  business  in  the  play.  But 
I fully  comprehended  that  I was  no  longer  strong,  and 
realized  that  I never  could  be;  hence  the  question  that 
confronted  me,  as  I lay  upon  my  cot  in  the  hospital,  was 
how  I should  earn  my  living,  in  the  future. 

Before  enlisting,  I had  led  the  choir  and  presided  at  the 
organ  in  the  leading  church  in  the  town,  in  which  I lived, 
and  I was  also  the  leader  of  the  drum  corps,  and  had  the 
reputation  of  being  a pretty  good  musician,  for  those  days. 
It  follows,  therefore,  that  my  cardinal  traits  were  music 
and  mechanism,  a sort  of  Vulcan  and  Apollo  rolled  into 
one.  I was  as  much  at  ease  at  the  drafting  table  as  I was 
at  the  piano.  But  now  that  I felt  that  my  career  as  a 
mechanic  and  inventor  was  ended,  my  next  strong  point 
was  music  and  to  that  profession  I turned  with  the  hope 
that  I could  at  least  earn  my  living. 

But  with  me  to  operate  machinery  was  a passion  as 
much)  as  music,  a part  of  my  very  being,  aS  it  were;  in 
fact,  I looked  upon  a machine  with  its  shafts,  levers, 
pulleys  and  gears,  as  simply  a poem,  a poem  in  mechanism, 
and  while  for  the  moment  I was  dismissing  from  further 
consideration  this  propensity  of  my  nature,  yet  it  was 
bound  to  return  and  assert  itself,  and  when  it  did,  it 


10 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


would  be  with  an  irresistible  and  redoubled  force.  So,  in 
view  of  the  foregoing  facts,  I determined  to  take  up  the 
profession  of  music  and  to  this  end,  upon  my  return  home, 
I took  a term  at  the  Western  Academy  of  Music,  in  order 
to  fit  and  qualify  myself  for  the  work.  And  then  I com- 
menced teaching  both  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  occa- 
sionally selling  a piano  or  organ,  drilling  choirs,  and  lead- 
ing conventions,  while  presiding  at  the  organ  in  one  of 
the  leading  churches  in  Akron,  Ohio,  where  I then  resided. 

But  it  wag  while  at  the  hospital  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  that 
my  mind  began  to  fall  in  with  the  idea  of  an  automatic 
musical  instrument,  operated  differently  than  the  Swiss 
cylinder  music  box  and  barrel  organ,  which  at  that  time 
was  the  only  instrumentality  known  to  the  world  for 
mechanically  producing  music.  When  I got  down  to  it,  I 
was  not  long  in  discovering  the  shortcomings  of  that 
system. 

But  while  it  was  a comparatively  easy  task  to  point  out 
the  defects,  and  objections,  of  the  old  mechanism,  it  was 
an  entirely  different  proposition  to  devise  something  better, 
to  take  its  place.  It  took  me  ten  long,  weary  years,  to 
discover,  develop  and  perfect,  the  present  system,  to  a 
point  where  the  music  trade  would  condescend  to  consider 
it  although  the  public  welcomed  it  almost  from  its  incep- 
tion. 

While  convalescing  in  the  hospital  at  Nashville,  I was 
permitted  to  go  out  from  day  to  day  and  finally  to  visit 
the  heart  of  the  city.  At  that  time  every  other  man  one 
met  was  a soldier,  and  those  who  were  not  soldiers  were 
negroes  and  it  was  rarely,  indeed,  that  you  met  a citizen 
to  the  manor  born.  Most  of  the  native  men  had  either 
been  killed  or  wounded,  while  the  Southern  women  and 


II 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


children  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  and  scattered 
to  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth. 

There  had  been  several  music  stores  in  Nashville  prior  to 
the  war,  but  nothing  of  that  kind  remained,  that  could  be 
dignified  by  such  a title.  Instead,  there  was  one  or  two 
pawn  shops  where  they  carried  a line  of  small  musical 
instruments,  violins,  accordeons,  etc.,  and  one  of  them, 
in  particular,  I had  frequently  passed  and  repassed.  There 
was  quite  an  assortment  of  small  musical  instruments 
displayed  in  the  window  and  that  window  had  a mighty 
fascination  for  me. 

I visited  it  frequently,  and  no  matter  what  part  of  the 
city  I started  for,  I invariably  wound  up  by  a visit  to  that 
window,  for  be  it  remembered  that  I played  fairly  well 
on  the  cornet,  flute  and  violin,  as  well  as  the  organ  and 
piano ; that  is,  I played  fairly  well  for  those  days.  Finally, 
on  one  of  my  visits  to  that  store,  I ventured  in.  There  was 
a couple  of  melodeons  and  an  antiquated  piano  on  the 
floor.  I tried  to  play  on  them  but  they  were  not  in  playing 
condition.  I asked  the  proprietor  why  he  did  not  fix  them. 
‘‘Would  you  buy  them,  if  I did?”  was  his  reply. 

Of  course,  to  a Union  soldier  that  was  a poser,  for  I had 
not  seen  a dollar  for  so  long  that  I did  not  know  how  a 
dollar  looked,  except  a Confederate  dollar.  And  that  he 
knew  as  well  as  I.  But  he  had  started  the  absurdity,  so  I 
concluded  to  carry  the  joke  a little  further,  so  I asked  him 
how  much  he  would  take  for  the  smallest  and  cheapest  of 
the  two  melodeons  which,  if  my  memory  serves  me  rightly, 
was  a four  octave  Prince  manufacture,  made  in  Buffalo. 
He  replied  that  I could  have  it  just  as  it  was  for  twenty- 
five  dollars  and  in  perfect  cold  blood  I told  him  I would 
take  it. 

You  ought  to  have  seen  the  expression  of  surprise  on 


12 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


that  man’s  face  when  I thus  delivered  myself.  “Do  you 
mean  it?”  he  inquired.  “I  certainly  do,”  was  my  rejoinder, 
so  with  a reluctance  bom  of  distrust,  he  turned  to  his 
desk  and  drew^  up  a bill  of  sale  and  passed  it  over  the 
counter  toward  me,  while  I simultaneously  drew  out  of 
my  pocket  a roll  of  Confederate  bills  and  proceeded  to 
count  out  $25  in  bills  of  the  realms  of  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy, which  realms  were  beginning  to  be  somewhat 
circumscribed  about  that  time.  I will  not  attempt  to 
describe  the  look  of  disgust  that  mantled  the  countenance 
of  that  pawnbroker  when  he  saw  me  calmly  and  coolly 
counting  out  that  Confederate  script.  He  was  incensed, 
oif  course,  and  gave  me  to  understand  that  he  did  not 
propose  to  be  jollied  in  his  own  shop,  not  even  by  a soldier 
in  blue.  I retorted:  “You  knew  that  all  the  privates  in  the 
army  of  the  Cumberland  couldn’t  muster  $25  to  save  their 
souls  from  perdition.”  “I  knew  it,”  was  his  prompt  reply. 
“Then  why  did  you  propose  to  sell  it  to  me,”  I retorted. 

But  the  gentleman  had  a streak  of  humor  in  his  make- 
up and  recognizing  the  absurdity  of  the  situation,  we  both 
had  a good  laugh  over  the  incident.  And  then  and  there 
was  consummated  the  relations  and  conditions  which  ulti- 
mately culminated  in  the  discovery  upon  my  part,  at  least, 
of  some  of  the  principles  subsequently  embodied  in  the 
modern  player  piano.  Prior  to  that  time  I had  not  seen, 
had  not  heard  and  did  not  know  of  the  existence  of  any 
instrument  or  device  of  any  kind,  operable  by  a perfo- 
rated device  or  of  any  attempt  to  invent  or  construct  a 
musical  instrument  to  be  actuated  by  a perforated  sheet. 


13 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


CHAPTER  III 

\1  7HEN  I left  that  little  shop  that  afternoon  to  return 
^ ’ to  the  hospital  it  was  with  the  understanding  that  I 
would  come  back  the  next  day  and  see  if  I could  repair  the 
melodeons.  I was  strongly  tempted  to  begin  the  work 
then  and  there,  although  I was  very  weak  and  far  from 
being  well.  But  the  ruling  passion  is  strong  in  death,  it  is 
said,  and  although  I considered  myself  very  much  alive, 
nevertheless  the  hospital  authorities  had  written  my  people 
that  I was  “beyond  hope.”  During  the  time  that  I remained 
in  the  hospital,  nothing  made  me  so  mad  or  so  unmanage- 
able as  for  any  one  to  hint  that  I could  not  survive,  and 
the  amount  of  profanity  I fired  at  the  nurses,  surgeons  and 
attendants  at  that  time  would  have  sunk  a modern  battle- 
ship. Finally  one  of  them,  who  wanted  to  pray  for  me, 
got  such  a dose  of  cuss  words  for  her  pains  that  she  got 
angry  and  said  I was  too  mean  to  die,  which  I supposed 
was  perfectly  correct.  And  doubtless  this  is  true  even  now. 
But  from  that  time  on,  they  left  me  alone  to  do  my  own 
dying. 

When  I reported  back  to  the  hospital,  after  tearing  my- 
self away  from  those  old  melodeons,  I was  greatly  excited 
over  the  incidents  of  the  day,  which  had  made  a deep  im- 
pression upon  my  mind  and  greatly  accelerated  the  move- 


14 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


ment  of  my  pulse,  which  aroused  the  fear  of  my  nurse 
and  caused  me  to  lay  awake  most  of  the  night,  thinking 
of  the  glorious  time  I was  going  to  have  the  next  day 
wrestling  with  the  mysteries  and  intricacies  of  those  two 
old  melodeons  and  that  antiquated  piano.  Of  course,  I did 
not  reveal  to  the  nurse  where  I had  been  and  what  I 
was  doing.  After  several  days  I got  the  melodeons  into 
playing  condition,  and  fixed  the  piano  so  it  would  play  after 
a fashion.  One  day  I was  seated  at  one  of  the  melodeons 
when  a lady  entered,  accompanied  by  a colored  man,  who 
was  carrying  a common  pin-cylinder  music  box,  such  as 
was  common  prior  to  the  war,  and  for  some  time  after. 
The  woman  looked  daggers  at  me,  by  which  I understood 
she  was  a Southerner,  and  hated  the  very  sight  of  a 
“Yank,’^  which  was  the  title  by  which  we  were  described 
by  the  people  of  the  South.  Nor  did  I blame  her,  for  to 
tell  the  truth,  poet  could  not  describe,  nor  artists  portray, 
even  the  least  of  the  terrible  sufferings  endured  by  the 
women  of  the  South  during  the  four  years  of  bloody  car- 
nage between  the  States. 

The  colored  man  laid  the  music  box  down  on  the  counter, 
and  the  woman  addressed  the  proprietor  of  the  shop,  who 
was  also  a Southerner,  and  asked  him  to  let  her  have 
twenty-five  dollars  for  the  box.  He  declined  to  pay  that 
amount,  or  even  make  her  an  offer.  She  told  him  it  cost 
ten  times  that  amount  when  it  was  new,  and  then  she 
wound  it  up  and  it  started  to  play.  But  some  of  the  teeth 
in  the  music  comb  were  broken.  Consequently  it  did  not 
play  well.  So  the  shop  keeper  informed  her  that  he  didn’t 
want  a broken  music  box  on  his  hands;  he  had  enough 
broken  stuff  in  stock  already.  That  was  a crushing  an- 
nouncement to  the  woman,  and  I could  see  the  look  of 
disappointment  and  despair  that  came  over  her  refined  and 


15 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

cultured  countenance,  as  the  pawnbroker  expressed  himself 
in  his  heartless  and  characteristic  manner.  She  started  to 
argue  the  case  with  him,  whereupon  he  turned  and  pointed 
to  a clock  on  the  shelf  and  a picture  on  the  wall;  then, 
pulling  out  a drawer,  he  directed  her  attention  to  some 
silverware  and  addressed  her  as  follows:  ‘‘I  paid  you  at 
one  time  or  another  over  $50  good  money  for  these  things, 
and  if  anybody  wants  them  at  half  what  I paid  you,  they 
can  take  them.'’  At  that  cold  blooded  deliverance  of  the 
pawnbroker,  the  woman  recoiled,  and  staggering  back  sat 
down  on  a chair.  I could  hear  a suppressed  sob,  but  I 
did  not  dare  to  look  at  her.  I had  seen  much  of  the 
miseries  and  vicissitudes  of  war,  and  I thought  I was 
inured  to  its  results.  But  I confess  the  distress  of  that 
poor,  needy  woman  unmanned  me;  I realized  that  she  was 
in  dire  straits  and  needed  relief.  Most  Southern  people 
were  in  the  same  condition,  and  if  I had  had  $25  in  the* 
world  she  could  have  had  it.  I had,  however,  no  particular 
claim  on  the  pawnbroker  and  I regarded  him  as  both 
close-fisted  and  hard-hearted;  but  notwithstanding  her  evi- 
dent dislike  of  me  I concluded  to  take  a chance  and  ‘‘butt 
in"  on  behalf  of  the  woman.  So  I walked  over  to  the 
counter  and  took  a look  at  the  box.  I saw  that  it  was  a 
fine,  high-priced  instrument,  with  reed  and  bell  attachment, 
and  must  have  originally  cost  $500.  So  I called  the  pro- 
prietor to  one  side,  and  told  him  it  was  a valuable  piece  of 
property  and  well  worth  $25.  There  were  five  extra  cylin- 
ders. But  the  pawnbroker  still  refused,  particularly  as 
three  of  the  teeth  in  the  comb  were  broken,  and  unfor- 
tunately the  tune  she  played  showed  the  instrument  at  its 
worst.  So,  while  I despise  and  hate  subterfuge  and  trick- 
ery in  trade,  yet  I know  of  nothing  I wouldn't  do  for  a 
woman  in  tears.  So  I concluded  to  resort  to  a Yankee 
16 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


trick  to  help  a friend  of  the  Confederacy  in  need.  I moved 
the  cylinder  to  a position  where  the  broken  teeth  were  less 
in  evidence  than  they  had  been,  connected  up  the  reed  and 
hell  attachment,  put  a drop  of  oil  on  the  fly  and  started  it 
up  again.  A look  of  surprise  came  over  the  pawnbroker’s 
face  when  he  heard  it,  and  finally  he  said  that  he  would 
let  her  have  $io  for  the  box.  But  I wanted  the  woman  to 
have  $25.  She  evidently  had  figured  up  her  needs  and  found 
that  she  could  not  get  along  with  less  than  that  amount. 
So  I held  out.  While  we  were  haggling  over  the  matter,  a 
United  States  military  officer  with  his  wife  and  another 
lady  entered  the  shop.  The  officer’s  wife  had  been  there 
before,  and  I had  played  for  her  on  one  of  the  melodeons 
and  she  had  tried  it  herself.  Now  she  and  her  husband 
had  returned  to  purchase  it,  paying  the  sum  of  $50.  The 
officer  gave  the  pawnbroker  an  order  on  the  post  sutler, 
which  was  accepted  and  the  sale  was  closed.  I now  felt 
that  I was  entitled  to  some  consideration  at  the  pawn- 
broker’s hands,  and  after  much  haggling  with  him  he  con- 
sented to  let  the  woman  have  $25,  but  not  until  I had 
agreed  to  put  the  music  box  in  order. 

The  woman  had  heard  most  of  what  had  transpired  be- 
tween the  shopkeeper  and  myself,  and  she  must  have  real- 
ized that  she  owed  her  success  to  my  intercession,  for 
without  my  assistance,  and  agreement  to  repair  the  box, 
she  must  have  failed  in  her  mission.  But  instead  of  thank- 
ing me,  when  she  got  outside  the  door  she  looked  back 
through  the  glass  at  me  with  a look  of  hatred  as  if  I had 
been  her  mortal  enemy,  although  in  all  the  world,  at  that 
moment,  she  had  no  better  friend  or  more  sincere  sympa- 
thizer. So  I considered  myself  fortunate  in  escaping  with 
my  life.  The  Southern  citizen  and  soldier  surrendered  to 
the  armies  of  the  North;  the  Southern  women  never  did 


17 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

and  never  will;  at  least  that  is  true  of  the  present  genera- 
tion. 

But  in  agreeing  to  repair  that  music  box,  little  did  I 
realize  the  difficulty  of  the  job  I had  undertaken,  for,  de- 
voting all  the  time  allotted  me  by  the  hospital  authorities, 
it  took  me  over  a week  to  put  that  box  in  proper  playing 
condition.  But  as  a result  of  my  labors  I made  the  discov- 
ery that  by  making  a depression  in  the  pin-cylinder,  instead 
of  inserting  a pin  or  staple,  and  by  the  employment  of  a 
double  or  compound  lever,  instead  of  a simple  or  single 
lever,  I could  altogether  dispense  with  the  pins  and  staples 
in  the  cylinder  and  produce  the  same  result  by  means  of 
the  depression  or  perforation  obtained  by  the  pin  and 
staple.  It  was  but  a little  further  to  the  idea  of  a per- 
forated wrapper,  or  jacket  to  fit  around  the  cylinder  and 
so  on,  step  by  step,  to  a perforated  cardboard,  flexible  metal 
sheet,  and  finally,  the  narrow  paper  sheet  on  rolls,  such  as 
is  employed  on  the  modern  player.  And  so  I worked  in 
the  pawnshop  during  the  day  and  did  my  thinking  in  the 
hospital  at  night;  meanwhile  Uncle  Sam  paid  the  freight. 

Finally  I was  transferred  to  the  hospital  at  Camp  Den- 
nison, Ohio,  from  which  I was  discharged  in  the  fall  of 
1865,  and  returned  to  Uniontown,  where  I took  charge  of 
the  agricultural  works  until  they  were  bought  by  a syndi- 
cate of  Cantonians  and  moved  to  the  city  of  Canton.  Mean- 
time I had  kept  up  my  experiments  in  connection  with  the 
player,  and  in  1866  had  sufficient  idea  concerning  it  to  en- 
able me  to  put  my  plans  on  paper. 

Having  got  that  far,  I made  the  discovery  that  I would 
need  perforated  sheets  to  govern  the  operation  of  the 
mechanism,  and  I knew  no  one  to  whom  I could  go,  or  in 
whom  I could  confide  to  get  up  the  sheets  for  me.  That 
work  consequently  devolved  upon  me  also,  but  not  being 
18 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


sufficiently  versed  in  composition,  harmony  and  thorough 
bass  to  arrange  the  sheets  I concluded  to  take  another 
term  at  the  Western  Normal  Academy. 

On  my  return  I resumed  teaching,  keeping  up  my  player 
experiments  in  the  meanwhile.  I knew  the  feeling  of  preju- 
dice that  existed  in  the  minds  of  musicians  in  regard  to 
what  they  were  pleased  to  denominate  hand  organ,  or 
mechanical  music,  and  knowing  that,  I concluded  that  it 
would  be  safest  to  keep  my  own  counsel.  Therefore  I 
supervised  my  work  in  person,  and  with  as  much  secrecy  as 
if  I was  a conspirator,  bent  upon  blowing  up  the  whole 
musical  industries  of  the  world.  And  it  was  not  because 
I feared  that  others  would  steal  the  invention,  but  because 
I feared  the  prejudice  of  my  musical  associates  and  teach- 
ers. People  knew  I was  experimenting,  of  course,  and 
that  my  experiments  related  in  some  way  to  the  piano  and 
organ,  but  that  I was  attempting  to  invent  an  instrument 
that  any  one  could  play  was  something  known  only  by  my 
family,  my  workmen  and  myself.  It  was,  furthermore, 
something  that  I did  not  mean  that  others  would  find  out. 
But  sooner  or  later  my  plans  were  bound  to  be  divulged, 
and  when  that  time  came  I knew  I would  have  trouble,  and 
to  spare,  for  if  it  had  been  announced  that  I was  trying  to 
invent  perpetual  motion,  instead  of  the  player,  it  could 
not  have  aroused  more  ridicule  and  contempt,  upon  the 
part  of  the  musical  fraternity,  than  did  the  discovery  that 
I was  ‘^engaged  in  the  development  of  a piano  upon  which 
a country  clodhopper  could  play  a Beethoven  sonata,’'  as 
they  were  wont  to  express  it. 

The  average  musician,  as  I have  known  him,  prides  him- 
self upon  his  so-called  artistic  temperament — whatever  that 
means.  And  if  there  is  anything  on  earth  so  narrow  as 
this  so-called  artistic  temperament,  then  may  God  in  his 


19 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

infinite  mercy  spare  me  from  encountering  it,  for  I have 
had  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  of  this  professional 
affectation  and  artistic  pretense. 

'‘But  murder  will  out/'  One  of  the  men,  employed  by 
me,  seeing  the  possibilities  lying  in  an  instrument  governed 
by  a perforated  sheet,  got  a swelled  head  and  concluded 
that  I,  being  only  a music  teacher,  and  organist,  could  not, 
therefore,  know  much  about  mechanism.  So  it  was  up 
to  him  to  show  me  a thing  or  two,  and  one  of  the  things 
he  concluded  to  show  me  was  how  to  build  the  player.  He 
knew  nothing  about  music,  or  several  other  things  necessary 
to  cope  with  the  proposition.  Furthermore,  he  began  to  build 
his  player  in  the  columns  of  the  public  press  in  an  Ohio 
paper  published  in  1871.  That  was  mistake  No.  i,  for 
when  it  comes  to  building  players,  in  the  columns  of  the 
public  press,  the  trade  will  bear  me  witness  that  I am  a 
full  team  and  a dog  under  the  wagon,  even  at  that  sort  of 
a game,  if  forty  years'  experience  counts  for  anything. 
But  this  gentleman,  not  faring  well  in  his  newspaper  ef- 
forts, ventured  into  the  courts,  and  that  was  mistake  No.  2. 
It  resulted  in  his  undoing,  for  when  that  man  left  the 
witness  stand,  it  was  as  a convicted  felon,  to  go  before 
another  court,  where  he  signed  an  affidavit  to  the  effect  that 
I was  the  original  inventor  of  the  player  mechanism,  and 
that  in  testifying  against  me,  he  had  borne  false  witness 
and  that  he  had  been  induced  to  do  so  by  a prominent  organ 
manufacturer  of  New  York. 

That  affidavit  in  support  of  my  claims,  and  a good  many 
more  documents  of  a similar  character,  are  on  file  in  the 
United  States  Patent  Office,  in  Washington,  and  are  ac- 
cessible to  any  one  desiring  to  verify  my  statements.  And 
if  I could  only  get  some  of  these  latter  day  aspirants  for 


20 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


player  fame  before  the  courts  they  would  be  very  apt  to 
pass  out,  shorn  of  their  glory,  just  as  the  other  fellow  did. 

Between  the  years  1868  and  1871  inclusive  I spent  most 
of  my  time  between  Carrollton,  Carroll  County,  and  Ger- 
mano,  Harrison  County,  Ohio,  and  it  was  at  the  latter 
town  that  I met  Alpheus  Lowmiller,  a carpenter  and  cabinet 
maker  by  occupation.  He  was  a practical  mechanic,  and  a 
genius  in  handling  small  tools.  He  also  had  some  inventive 
ability.  I was  erecting  a pipe  organ  in  a church  at  the 
time  I met  him.  He  manifested  considerable  interest  in 
the  work,  and  seeing  that,  I asked  him  if  he  could  do  a job 
of  experimental  work  for  me  in  connection  with  a new  kind 
of  organ  I had  in  mind.  He  readily  consented,  and  I did 
more  or  less  experimenting  at  that  place,  Lowmiller  doing 
the  construction  work  under  my  direction.  Subsequently 
I move  to  Carrollton,  where  I took  charge  of  the  choir  in 
the  Reformed  Church,  teaching  music,  selling  organs  and 
pianos,  and  here  I had  in  my  employ  several  mechanics, 
whose  testimony  in  behalf  of  my  prior  inventorship  of  the 
player  is  also  on  record  in  the  Patent  Office. 

It  was  in  the  early  part  of  1871  that  Joe  Lawler  editor 
of  the  Carroll  County  Chronicle,  called  my  attention  to  an 
article  which  had  appeared  in  the  Steubenville  (Ohio) 
Gazette,  and  which  was  signed  by  one  Alpheus  Lowmiller, 
the  man  employed  by  me  at  Germano.  In  this  article  Low- 
miller put  forth  his  own  name  as  the  inventor.  Editor 
Lawler  had  been  familiar  with  my  attempts  to  build  the 
player  as  far  back  as  my  residence  in  Uniontown,  between 
’65  and  later,  hence  his  reference  to  the  Lowmiller  article. 
I immediately  replied  through  the  columns  of  the  Chron- 
icle, claiming  the  invention  as  my  own  and  denouncing 
Lowmiller  as  a fraud.  That  is  the  first  and  only  reference 
that  has  ever  appeared  in  the  public  prints  of  this  country 


21 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

to  my  knowledge  in  relation  to  any  instrument  operatable 
by  a perforated  sheet  up  to  that  time.  But  from  that 
moment  on  the  subject  has  been  cussed  and  discussed  and 
volumes  have  been  written  and  published  for  and  against 
the  player  proposition.  The  professional  musician  to  a 
man  denounced  it;  the  piano  and  organ  manufacturers 
bitterly  opposed  it,  and  spent  their  time  and  money  ridi- 
culing the  inventor.  But  “canned  music’’  still  lives.  The 
player  has  come  to  stay,  and  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  player  piano  will  be  the  only  piano  in  evidence. 

From  Carrollton  I went  to  the  organ  factory  of  Whitney 
& Slayton,  later  the  Raymond  Company  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  v/here  I did  some  experimental  work  and  procured 
supplies  and  later  went  to  Akron,  Ohio.  It  was  in  Akron 
where  most  of  the  developing  was  done  and  many  of  the 
hardest  problems  worked  out.  And  it  was  there  that  I 
taught  music  and  sold  pianos  and  organs  by  day  and  ex- 
perimented by  night,  burning  the  candle  at  both  ends,  and 
dividing  my  income  about  equally  between  the  doctors  and 
the  men  who  did  my  experimental  work,  for  be  it  remem- 
bered that  when  I was  discharged  from  the  hospital  I was 
still  suffering  from  my  injuries  and  under  constant  treat- 
ment, having  to  make  frequent  trips  to  Pittsburgh,  Pa., 
where  I was  under  the  care  of  a surgeon  by  the  name  of 
Kiser  on  Liberty  street,  who  also  manufactured  surgical 
appliances. 

At  Akron  I conducted  my  work,  first  at  the  jewelry 
store  of  E.  Abbey,  the  father  of  Henry  E.  Abbey,  of 
Metropolitan  Opera  House  fame,  and  he  and  I played  E 
flat  cornet  in  Marble’s  Akron  Band.  I also  played  violin 
and  led  an  amateur  orchestra.  Some  of  my  experimental 
work  was  done  between  the  years  1872  and  1874,  at  Straub’s 
organ  factory,  and  some  at  one  place  and  some  at  another, 


22 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


when  my  health  was  completely  broken  down  and  I had  to 
abandon  all  work  and  go  to  my  wife's  people,  who  con- 
ducted a ranch  between  Emporia,  Lyon  County,  and 
Wichita,  Sedgwick  County,  Kansas.  Here  I spent  nearly 
two  years.  Part  of  the  time  I taught  school,  sold  an  organ 
or  two  and  gave  a few  lessons,  but  don’t  for  a moment 
imagine  I had  lost  sight  of  the  player.  That  device  lay 
down  with  me  at  night,  got  up  with  me  in  the  morning 
and  sat  beside  me  at  the  table  while  I devoured  my  frugal 
meals.  I was  constantly  thinking  of  the  player  even  in 
wild  and  woolly  Kansas  (and  it  certainly  was  then  all  of 
that).  Yet,  even  there,  with  all  its  disadvantages,  I kept 
on  with  my  experiments  and  finally  concluded  that  if  I 
had  sufficient  money  I could  now  complete  a player  that 
would  overcome  most,  if  not  all  the  objections,  of  the 
pin-cylinder  organ.  Thereupon  I visited  I.  D.  Fox,  a 
music  dealer  of  Emporia,  Kansas,  and  explained  to  him 
what  I had  done,  by  way  of  developing  the  player,  and  he, 
being  the  agent  for  the  Mason  & Hamlin  Company,  I re- 
quested him  to  communicate  with  them  and  see  if  he  could 
interest  them  in  my  project.  In  reply,  the  Mason  & Ham- 
lin Company  said  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  forward 
to  them  a working  model.  I knew  it  would  be  next  to 
impossible  to  construct  such  a thing  in  Kansas  at  that  time, 
so  I made  my  plans  to  go  to  St.  Louis  where  I landed 
about  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1875,  with  about  $500 
in  my  pocket,  which  I had  saved  from  my  earnings  while 
in  Kansas.  Arriving  in  St.  Louis  I put  up  at  the  Western 
Hotel,  on  Fourth  street,  an  old  ramshackle  building  with 
a sales  stable  in  the  rear,  where  U.  S.  Grant  v/as  wont 
to  hang  out  between  trips  before  the  war  when  he  drove 
in  from  his  little  farm  on  the  Illinois  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. I entered  the  establishment  of  Boyer  & Swain, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

general  jobbers  and  machinists  on  Fourth  street,  and 
under  that  roof  three  players  were  built,  the  last  of  which 
is  described  as  follows  by  the  St.  Louis  Sunday  Journal  of 
July  9,  1876: 

“In  this  age  of  wonders,  people  have  come  to  look  composedly 
upon  anything  supposed  impossible.  But  now  comes  a stunner, 
an  eye  opener  in  music,  and  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  an  organ, 
a common  reed  organ,  on  which  one  who  has  never  played  an 
organ,  nor  ever  learned  the  difference  between  a gamut  and  a cleft, 
who  even  is  not  sharp  enough  to  know  a flat  or  is  too  flat  to  know 
a sharp,  but  who  can  work  pedals,  can  play  any  tune.  This  organ 
is  the  product,  not  only  of  extraordinary  genius,  but  of  10  long 
years  of  study  and  experiment  on  the  part  of  the  inventor,  John 
McTammany  of  New  York.  Not  only  can  any  tune  be  played  by 
simply  blowing  the  bellows,  but  by  the  moving  of  a slide  a piece 
may  be  transposed  to  sharps  or  flats  at  pleasure,  while  any  kind 
of  time  or  key  may  be  arranged  for  the  organ.  Although  attached 
to  the  organ  it  does  not  use  any  of  the  reeds  or  keys,  consequently 
an  accompaniment  can  be  played  to  the  music  of  the  automatic 
organ.  This  organ  is  so  constructed  as  to  attach  to  the  common 
organ  in  most  cases  without  changing  the  style  of  case.  The  in- 
ventor, Mr.  McTammany,  is  a young  man,  by  occupation  a music 
teacher,  from  Akron,  Ohio.  He  came  to  this  city  some  months 
since,  to  secure  the  aid  of  organ  manufacturers  in  perfecting  the 
organ,  and  through  Messrs.  Story  & Camp,  who  are  the  agents 
of  the  Estey  organ,  the  manufacturers  of  that  organ  furnished  Mr. 
McTammany  with  means  to  perfect  the  model,  and  so  satisfactory 
are  its  workings  that  the  company  has  ordered  an  organ  at  once 
for  the  Centennial.  The  Automatic  is  at  the  rooms  of  Messrs. 
Story  & Camp,  914  Olive  street.  We  have  seen  the  organ  and 
heard  it  play  and  can  see  no  reason  why  the  success  of  this 
wonderful  invention  is  not  certain.  The  advantages  accruing  are 
patent  at  a glance,  putting  music  in  to  every  home  without  the 
tedium  and  expense  of  learning  to  play,  and  Messrs.  J.  Estey  & 
Co.  have  shown  keen  foresight  in  securing  it  for  their  celebrated 
organs.” 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  while  the  instrument  was  a 
pretty  crude  looking  affair,  compared  with  the  well  de- 
signed and  highly  finished  artistic  modern  player,  yet 
crude  and  homely,  as  I admit  it  was,  nevertheless  it  con- 
tained all  the  essential  elements  and  performed  all  the  im- 
portant functions  of  the  modem  player,  and  clearly  antici- 


24 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


pated  and  foreshadowed  the  perfected  product  of  the  pres- 
ent day. 

The  following  definition  has  been  approved  by  many  of 
the  leading  player  manufacturers  of  the  country,  including 
Wilcox  & White,  the  Simplex  Company,  Thomas  Dan- 
quard,  and  a score  of  others,  of  equal  prominence  : 

“What  is  implied  by  the  terms,  inner,  or  inside  player,  or  player 
piano,  is  a musical  instrument  consisting  of  a casing,  two  actions 
and  a series  of  sounding  devices  within  the  casing,  one  of  said 
actions  adapted  to  be  operated  manually,  the  other  designed  to  be 
operated  mechanically  by  means  of  a perforated  sheet  on  rolls;  a 
wind,  spring  or  other  motor  for  feeding  the  sheet  and  winding  the 
rolls,  a bellows  and  mechanism  put  in  motion  by  it  for  actuating 
the  sounding  devices  of  the  automatic  action;  foot  pedals  or  power 
for  driving  the  motor,  and  means  for  controlling  the  tempo  and 
varying  the  expression.” 

It  is  charged  that  the  instrument,  constructed  and  ex- 
hibited by  me  at  St.  Louis,  in  the  Spring  of  1876,  was 
an  organ — not  a piano — which  is  true.  But  I could  just 
as  readily,  and  easily,  have  applied  the  player  mechanism 
to  the  piano,  and  as  a matter  of  fact  I did  so  apply  it, 
later.  In  1876  there  were  only  a few  pianos  made  and 
nearly  all  were  manufactured  in  and  around  Boston,  and 
at  that  time  the  square  piano  was  the  leading  instrument. 
The  present  upright  was  then  in  the  experimental  stage, 
just  as  the  player  was,  and  contending  with  much  the 
same  prejudice,  although  in  Europe  it  was  thoroughly 
established,  so  that  for  every  piano  made  and  sold  in 
those  days  there  must  have  been  fully  a hundred  organs 
marketed.  Furthermore,  the  organ  manufacturers  were  less 
prejudiced  against  the  introduction  of  the  player  than  were 
the  manufacturers  of  pianos.  Thus  it  will  be  seen,  that 
the  advent  of  the  player  dates  from  the  spring  of  1876 
and  that  prior  to  that  time  nothing  of  the  kind  was  known, 
either  to  the  Patent  Office  of  the  United  States  or  to  those 
of  Europe.  Notwithstanding  the  foregoing  facts,  certain 

25 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

candidates  for  player  fame,  unable  to  substantiate  their 
own  claims,  have  undertaken  to  rob  me  of  mine  by  attempt- 
ing to  bestow  the  honor  of  the  player’s  invention  upon  the 
Frenchmen  referred  to,  one  of  whom  mentioned  Four- 
neaux,  another  refers  to  Thibouville  Lamy,  another  to 
Justinian  Morse,  an  Englishman.  And  so  runs  the  con- 
fusion of  tongues.  Now,  while  several  attempts  had  been 
made  by  Englishmen,  Scotchmen,  Frenchman  and  Ameri- 
cans to  construct  a musical  instrument,  operatable  by  a 
perforated  device  of  one  kind  or  another,  between  the  years 
1865  and  1875,  ^ven  earlier,  yet  the  only  thing  that 
ever  was  invented,  manufactured  and  sold,  was  the  so- 
called  pianista,  which  was  patented  by  Fourneaux,  a 
Frenchman,  in  1863,  and  subsequently  improved,  and  put 
upon  the  market  several  years  later  by  the  firm  of  Thibou- 
ville Lamy.  But  that  was  simply  a keyboard  attachment 
which  actuated  a portion  of  the  piano  scale,  somewhat 
similar  to  the  cabinet  piano  players  manufactured  and  in 
vogue  in  this  country  several  years  ago,  but  now  practi- 
cally obsolete.  So  that  if  the  authorities  agree  upon  any 
one  thing,  more  than  another,  it  is  that  the  year  1876  was 
the  year  that  witnessed  the  beginning  of  the  player  in- 
dustry, and  the  question  arises  ‘Vhat  came  to  pass  at  that 
time  to  warrant  such  a statement?”  In  reply  I direct  the 
reader’s  attention  to  Appleton’s  encyclopedia  of  1885,  which, 
in  discussing  the  history  of  the  player,  observed  as  follows : 
‘‘Until  the  year  1876  no  great  degree  of  success  had  been 
attained  by  instruments  employing  perforated  sheets.  But 
it  would  appear  that  the  opportunity  afforded  skilled  me- 
chanics and  inventors  to  gather  at  the  Centennial  Exposi- 
tion and  obtain  a knowledge  of  and  a comparison  with 
one  another’s  works  and  ideas,  was  to  become  the  start- 
ing point  of  a new  era  of  progress.”  Among  those  ex- 
26 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


hibits  was  an  electric  organ,  made  by  Henry  Schmoele  of 
Philadelphia,  also  the  French  pianista.  One  of  the  peculi- 
arities of  the  Schmoele  mechanism  was  the  use  of  the  music 
sheet  of  double  width,  the  slots  of  the  music  which  would 
ordinarily  occupy  only  one  half  the  entire  width  of  the 
sheet  but  would  be  very  long  and  therefore  liable  to  de- 
struction were  divided.  Half  the  length  of  the  slot  was 
cut  in  half  the  double  sheet  and  the  remainder  in  the  other 
half.  Two  sets  of  electric  connections  were  used;  one 
set  beginning  the  notes  and  the  other  set  completing  them. 
The  impracticability  of  such  a proposition  was  self-evi- 
dent and  cut  no  figure  with  practical  men.  The  only 
other  thing  to  command  attention  was  the  patent  on  the  key- 
board attachment  by  Fourneaux,  already  referred  to.  This 
was  improved  by  Jerome  Thibouville  Lamy,  and  put  upon 
the  market  several  years  later,  but  while  a few  of  them 
were  made  and  sold,  yet  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  it 
could  not  have  been  a success  as  it  possessed  all  the  dis- 
advantages of  a barrel  organ  with  none  of  its  merits ; that 
is,  it  operated  by  turning  a hand  crank,  instead  of  using 
foot  pedals.  Subsequently  the  Americans  got  carried  away 
with  the  idea  of  a keyboard  attachment,  when  the  French 
invention  was  dragged  forth  from  its  previous  obscurity,  its 
mechanism  and  some  of  its  operative  parts  copied  and  in- 
troduced into  the  American  cabinet  piano  player,  which 
never  would  have  had  a footing  in  America  but  for  the 
prejudice  of  the  piano  manufacturers  who  regarded  their 
pianos  as  too  sacred  to  be  debauched  by  the  introduction 
of  the  player  mechanism  within  the  precincts  of  their 
precious  pianos.  This  lasted  but  a few  years,  when  it  was 
discarded  and  they  returned  to  the  interior  method — the 
McTammany  idea— the  French  method  being  totally  dis- 
carded. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NOW  at  the  time  that  I took  out  my  caveat  in  relation 
to  the  player  in  1876  I was  not  aware  of  anyone  ever 
having  contemplated  or  experimented  with  an  instrument 
to  be  operated  by  a perforated  device,  nor  at  the  time  when 
I applied  for  my  caveat  was  I advised  of  the  ex- 
istence of  anything  of  the  sort.  But  when  the 
value  of  the  player  began  to  manifest  itself  to  the 
trade  and  litigation  sprang  up,  then  it  became  nec- 
essary to  determine  the  exact  state  of  the  art,  and  this 
determination  was  not  reached  until  I filed  my  application 
for  a patent  in  1879,  which  application  was  so  broad  and 
comprehensive  as  to  comprise  the  entire  art,  covering  every 
patent  which  had  been  issued  up  to  that  date,  and  there  was 
just  thirty-five  of  them.  Then  it  was  and  then  only,  that 
the  Hunt  & Bradish,  and  the  Van  Dusen  patents  were 
brought  forth  to  the  light  and  the  European  experiments 
of  Morse,  Seytre,  Pain,  Pape,  and  Fomeaux  were  also 
made  known.  But  not  one  of  these  ever  showed  a player 
or  in  the  remotest  way  contemplated  or  suggested  or  even 
conceived  the  modern  American  player.  And  if  anyone 
ever  thought  or  imagined  such  a thing  as  an  interior  or 
inside  player,  nothing  has  yet  been  produced  to  establish 
the  fact  and  the  interior  player  mechanism  stands  forth 
28 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 
today  as  it  has  for  over  forty  years  as  the  invention  of  the 
writer,  John  McTammany.  And  for  that  period  I have 
openly,  publicly,  through  the  press,  in  the  patent  office  and 
the  courts  by  letter  challenged  anyone  to  meet  me  on  the 
issue.  But  no  one  has  ever  accepted  my  challenge.  So 
that  at  the  time  of  filing  my  caveat  only  two  patents  re- 
lating to  the  art  had  been  issued  in  this  country,  namely, 
those  of  Hunt  and  Braddish  and  Van  Dusen.  Today  the 
player  patents  are  numbered  by  the  thousand.  But  having 
seen  Van  Dusen  and  having  interrogated  him  on  the  sub- 
ject, I ascertained  the  date  of  his  conception  and  it  was 
found  that  I had  anticipated  him,  a fact  which  he  freely 
admitted.  However,  there  was  nothing  about  the  Van 
Dusen  patent  that  was  not  embodied  in  the  Fourneaux 
device,  except  that  the  form  and  shape  of  the  pneumatic 
were  different.  I denominate  the  Ferneaux  invention  as  a 
device  in  contradistinction  to  the  player  piano  for  the  rea- 
son that  the  Forneaux  invention  was  not  a musical  instru- 
ment in  either  sense  or  even  a prominent  part  of  such.  It 
was  incapable  of  producing  music  in  and  of  itself  and  was 
simply  and  solely  a keyboard  attachment  for  a piano ; prop- 
erly named  it  was  a piano  player  and  not  a player  piano,  or 
interior  or  inside  player.  And  the  failure  to  recognize  and 
observe  this  distinction  by  parties  discussing  the  subject 
has  led  to  much  needless  confusion. 

From  Philadelphia,  I journeyed  to  New  York  City,  where 
I spent  some  time  in  trying  to  prevail  upon  the  piano  and 
organ  manufacturers  of  that  city  to  introduce  the  player 
mechanism  within  their  instruments,  but  without  avail. 

And  among  the  concerns  visited  was  E.  P.  Needham,  organ 
factory ; Pelton  and  Pelubet.  I also  met  the  agents  of  Riley 
Burdett  and  George  Prince,  all  of  whom  were  engaged  in 
organ  and  melodecn  manufacturing.  I also  called  upon  the 


29 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

Stein  way,  Weber  and  several  other  piano  manufacturers 
and  upon  M.  Palliard,  manufacturer  of  music  boxes,  but 
all  without  success.  Frank  Leslie's  IllUvStrated  Weekly  and 
other  New  York  periodicals  at  the  time  referred  to  me  and 
my  presence  in  the  city  and  my  project. 

So  after  failing  to  enlist  the  interest  of  the  New  York 
manufacturers  in  my  system,  I went  on  to  Boston,  where  I 
canvassed  every  organ  and  piano  manufacturer.  It  is  true, 
therefore,  that  the  Frenchman  invented  the  first  piano 
player  known  as  the  pianista,  but  said  device  was  worthless, 
until  the  American  added  the  foot  pedals,  flexible  sheet  on 
rolls,  wind  motor  and  other  improvements,  invented  by  the 
writer.  But  even  as  improved  by  the  Americans,  the 
French  idea  is  now  practically  obsolete,  and  the  only  thing 
in  evidence  with  which  we  are  called  upon  to  deal  at  the 
present  time,  is  the  inside  player  piano,  embodying  the 
McTammany  player  mechanism,  no  matter  by  what  name 
ii  is  offered  to  the  public.  Of  course,  the  player  mechanism 
has  been  greatly  improved  since  it  came  from  my  hands  in 
1876,  just  as  the  grand  piano  has  been  improved  since  it 
came  from  the  hands  of  Cristofori  in  1707.  But  no  man 
has  yet  been  able  to  build  a grand  piano  without  embodying 
those  essential  elements  first  introduced  into  a piano  by 
Ciistofori,  and  in  like  manner  no  man  has  yet  constructed 
a plaj'er  that  did  not  embody  those  original  principles  first 
employed  in  keyboard  instruments  by  John  McTammany. 

Having  developed  the  player  to  a point  where  I was  satis- 
fied that  it  would  command  the  support  of  the  public  it 
then  became  a question  of  how  to  get  it  manufactured.  I 
tried  to  enlist  St.  Louis  capitalists  but  failed.  I then  en- 
tered into  correspondence  with  nearly  every  piano,  organ, 
and  music  box  manufacturer,  in  the  land.  Col.  Fuller, 
general  manager,  superintendent  and  mechanical  expert  of 
30 


JOHN  McTAMMANY,  SURROUNDED  BY  SOME  OF  THE  BOYS  OF  THE  STAMFORD,  CONN.. 

Mr.  McTammany  rooms  in  the  Association’s  building. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 
J.  Estey  & Co.,  visited  St.  Louis  and  examined  the  instru- 
ment. He  criticised  its  construction,  but  on  examination 
of  my  original  drawings  he  found  the  plans  all  right.  But 
the  organ  I was  compelled  to  use  was  not  adapted  for  the 
purpose,  so  he  gave  directions  that  I should  have  any  organ 
in  the  warerooms  that  I chose  and  authorized  Story  & 

Camp  to  advance  me  a certain  sum  of  money  with  which 
to  complete  another  instrument  with  the  view  of  exhibiting 
it,  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  Philadelphia  if  an  ar- 
rangement could  in  the  meantime  be  effected  between  J. 

Estey  & Co.,  and  myself.  When  Col.  Fuller  submitted  the 
matter  to  his  associates  they  did  not  enthuse  over  the  sub- 
ject, so  the  matter  was  dropped,  and  I heard  nothing  more 
from  them. 

It  was  then  that  I started  East  with  the  determination 
of  finding  capital  or  some  piano  or  organ  company  to  man- 
ufacture and  market  the  instrument,  visiting  state  after 
state,  city  after  city,  and  one  factory  after  another;  but  I 
utterly  failed  to  enlist  a single  capitalist  or  manufacturer  in 
my  enterprise  and  finally  landed  in  a garret  on  Tremont 
street  opposite  Park  Street  Church  in  a building  owned 
or  controlled  by  the  Russell  Brothers,  who  ran  a music 
store,  and  it  was  there  in  that  garret  in  the  fall  of  1876,  that 
the  player  industry  was  born.  I doubt  if  any  business  was 
ever  started  on  a less  pretentious  scale,  without  a dollar  in 
my  pocket,  without  credit,  without  a friend  or  even  an  ac- 
quaintance. However,  I then  and  there  resolved  to  start 
singly  and  alone,  what  has  become  the  great  player  indus- 
try of  today.  Of  course  to  make  such  an  instrument  as  I 
exhibited  at  St.  Louis  would  have  required  a large  capital. 

This  could  not  be  obtained.  I was  therefore  compelled  to 
reduce  the  size  and  capacity  of  the  instrument  from  48 


33 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


notes,  of  the  chromatic  scale,  to  a little  instrument  of  i6 
notes,  with  special  scale,  which  I called  an  organette  in 
contradistinction  to  the  larger  instrument  which  I named 
the  automatic  organ.  (See  McTammany's  Circulars  1876 
and  1877.) 

Circular  Issued  in  1876. 

McTAMMANY’S  AUTOMATIC  ORGAN 

A WONDERFUL  INVENTION. 


A Novelty  in  Musical  Instruments. 


Before  describing  this  wonderful  instrument  we  desire  briefly  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  public  to  a few  facts  in  connection  with 
the  history  of  music,  and  the  causes  that  led  to  the  production  of 
this  remarkable  invention  and  the  consequent  expenditure  of  a vast 
amount  of  time  and  money. 

In  tracing  the  origin  of  music  from  the  earliest  recorded  history, 
we  find  ourselves  notably  indebted  to  two  influences  for  our  present 
advancement  in  this  delightful  art,  viz. : the  human  voice,  and  the 
entire  class  of  ancient  and  modem  musical  instruments.  To  deter- 
mine which  of  these  forces  has  been  the  more  potent  would  be  im- 
possible, as  they  have  been  inseparably  connected,  each  perfect  and 
effective  of  itself,  and  when  combined  working  in  unison.  The  very 
existence  of  instruments  indicates-  that  the  human  voice  is  not  the 
embodiment  of  all  that  is  harmonious,  and  that  the  class  of  people 
born  without  musical  voices,  not  possessing  the  ability  to  play  upon 
instruments,  are  obliged  to  resort  to  mechanical  means  in  order  to 
gratify  their  love  for  instrumental  music. 

In  addition  to  the  class  above  there  is  another  who  do  not  possess 
musical  voices,  neither  have  they  the  qualities  that  enable  them  to 
perform  on  instruments,  yet  derive  great  pleasure  from  “concord 
of  sweet  sounds,’*  and  as  they  are  obliged  to  consult  the  convenience 
and  pleasure  of  others  more  musically  gifted,  who  are  generally 
afflicted  with  a “bad  cold”  or  have  “nothing  new  to  play,”  it  is 
evident  that  they  are  seldom  gratified. 

To  meet  the  wants  of  this  class,  special  instruments  have  been 
produced,  prominent  among  which  are  the  Hand  Organ,  Music  Box 
and  Orchestreen.  While  these  have  been  effective  in  a great  degree, 
yet  they  are  objectionable  on  account  of  their  mechanical  effect, 
want  of  expression  and  limitation  of  tunes. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  it  wO'uld  be  impracticable  to  teach  the 
class  previously  referred  to,  who  have  no  faculty  for  receiving  a 
musical  education,  manufacturers  have  devised  mechanical  instruments 
in  the  hope  of  satisfying  their  needs.  The  English  produced  the 

34 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


^‘Antifinal,”  which  was  followed  by  the  “Pianista,”  a French  inven- 
tion, while  Americans,  not  to  be  outdone,  have  given  to  the  world 
the  “Electric  Organ.”  Although  these  inventions  all  have  merit  and 
have  met  with  some  success,  they  possess  defects  which  prevent  them 
from  coming  into  general  use.  The  “Antifinal”  possesses  nothing 
more  than  the  Hand  Organ,  the  “Pianista”  is  simply  an  attachment 
to  the  Piano,  monopolizing  the  keyboard,  and  costing  $400  in  addi- 
tion to  the  cost  of  that  instrument,  while  the  very  name  “Electric 
Organ”  is  sufficient  evidence  of  its  impracticability,  as  one  familiar 
with  the  expense  and  fickleness  of  electro-magnetism  will  readily 
admit,  and  the  price  of  the  cheapest  is  $750. 

Now,  identified  with  music  are  people  of  varied  interests;  those 
who  follow  it  for  profit,  honor  or  both.  With  the  former  may  be 
■classed  the  manufacturers,  who  are  aware  that  the  sale  of  instru- 
ments is  limited  by  the  means  we  have  of  educating  the  people, 
and  if  they  would  increase  their  sales  they  must  increase  the  educat- 
ing medium,  which  has  thus  far  been  confined  to  the  teachers,  the 
choir,  the  band,  the  orchestra  and  the  instruments  above  mentioned. 

Manufacturers  are  agreed,  that  to  successfully  occupy  this  field 
the  instrument  must  possess  all  the  merits  and  none  of  the  defects 
of  those  just  described,  must  be  in  some  respects  a substitute  for 
an  organist,  must  be  simple,  durable  and  inexpensive,  and  if  an 
attachment  must  not  interfere  with  the  principle  or  mechanism  of 
the  present  organ.  To  produce  such  an  instrument  the  successful 
individual  must  combine  the  unusual  qualities  of  inventor,  mechanic, 
practical  and  theoretical  musician,  must  know  what  is  required 
musically,  and  what  is  possible  mechanically. 

That  the  inventor  of  the  AUTOMATIC  ORGAN,  Mr.  McTam- 
many,  possesses  these  qualities  in  an  eminent  degree  will  be  ap- 
parent. A European  by  birth,  having  had  several  years’  training 
in  mechanical  pursuits,  and  superintendent  of  a large  manufacturing 
establishment  before  he  attained  his  majority,  a born  musician,  ac- 
<iuiring  proficiency  on  several  instruments  in  his  boyhood  without 
the  aid  of  a teacher,  and  subsequently  educated  in  the  best  insti- 
tutions in  this  country,  having  taught  music  and  been  identified  with 
the  manufacture  and  sale  of  musical  instruments,  he  is  therefore 
enabled  to  anticipate  the  wants  of  the  people  and  has  produced  an 
organ  embracing  not  only  the  foregoing  requirements,  but  much 
more,  as  will  be  seen  by  a perusal  of  the  following: 

The  “Automatic”  is  an  organ  of  itself  without  a keyboard,  differ- 
ing from  the  Hand  Organ,  Music  Box  and  Orchestreen  in  that  it 
has  no  crank,  barrel  or  spiked  cylinder,  neither  is  it  limited  to  a 
certain  number  of  tunes,  nor  does  it  possess  their  mechanical  effect, 
but  on  the  contrary  is  capable  of  giving  great  expression.  It  is  cased 
similar  to  the  ordinary  parlor  organ,  having  pedals,  by  the  use  of 
which  the  instrument  is  operated.  Unlike  the  “Pianista”  in  that  it 
does  not  monopolize  the  keyboard,  is  not  so  complex,  the  mechanism 
being  made  of  metallic  substances  not  subject  to  atmospheric  changes, 

35 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

while  it  costs  only  one-fotirth  the  price.  It  excels  the  “Magnetic 
Organ’*  in  economy  of  space,  costing  $650  less,  needs  no  power  save 
the  bellows  which  are  operated  by  the  feet  the  same  as  the  common 
organ.  The  cost  of  the  music  (by  which  the  instrument  is  operated) 
will  be  almost  nothing  compared  with  the  cost  of  printed  music. 

In  fact  this  instrument  is  not  only  organ  but  performer  also, 
and  will  play  an  unlimited  number  of  compositions  in  any  time  or 
key  within  the  register  of  the  instrument  and  can  have  one  or  more 
sets  of  reeds,  or  can  be  attached  to  the  common  organ.  The  speed 
is  regulated  by  the  motion  of  the  foot  pedals,  while  the  tone  is  in- 
creased or  diminished  by  the  use  of  a knee-swell.  As  there  can 
be  no  abstract  effects  produced  upon  any  organ  it  is  apparent  that 
the  expression  of  the  instrument  is  entirely  under  the  control  of 
the  performer  or  it  could  be  arranged  automatically,  but  “as  great 
minds  differ,”  and  no  two  interpret  a piece  alike,  it  was  thought 
best  to  put  the  expression  at  the  will  of  the  performer. 

The  advantages  of  this  instrument  are  obvious.  First: — For  $100 
we  furnish  an  “Automatic”  Organ  with  dynamic  attachment.  Sec- 
ond:— For  $50  extra  keyboard  is  added,  so  that  an  accompaniment 
may  be  played  with  the  hands  while  the  “Automatic”  is  in  operation, 
thus  giving  four-handed  music.  Third: — A performer  on  the  flute, 
violin  or  comet  can  perform  on  both  instruments  at  the  same  time; 
this  feature  is  of  special  value  to  musicians.  Fourth: — In  singing, 
this  organ  will  play  an  accompaniment,  or  the  melody,  or  both. 
Fifth: — For  $15  extra  we  furnish  a transposing  attachment,  by 
which,  if  a composition  is  too  high  or  too  low,  it  can  instantly,  by 
the  use  of  a stop,  be  changed  to  any  desired  key. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  foregoing  that  we  have  solved  the  problem, 
and  that  we  can  furnish  an  instrument  that  is  an  educator,  that 
will  stand  between  the  masses  and  the  masters,  discoursing  music 
that  has  thus  far  laid  upon  the  shelf  or  been  known  only  to  the 
musicians.  Henceforth  music  must  stand  upon  its  merits  and  the 
people  shall  be  the  judge,  for  by  the  use  of  this  instrument  and 
our  process  of  making  music  we  can  have  a composition  issued  and 
performed  by  these  instruments  the  world  o’er  with  little  or  no 
cost  to  the  composer. 

While  the  general  public  hail  with  delight  the  coming  of  this  in- 
strument, the  same  cannot  be  said  of  all  our  musical  friends,  but 
on  the  contrary,  it  has  aroused  the  most  bitter  oposition  and  we 
regret  to  say  that  we  have  been  the  recipient  of  some  very  harsh 
treatment  in  consequence  of  the  production  of  this  instrument. 

We  admit  that  it  will  affect  our  present  system,  but  only  for  the 
better.  There  will  be  more  required  of  our  teachers  it  is  true,  for 
the  people  will  be  better  prepared  to  judge,  and  the  taste  of  the 
masses  will  be  improved,  a higher  standard  of  musical  attainment 
will  be  required,  and  a better  appreciation  of  the  accomplishment 
will  develop  a disposition  to  improve  in  the  performance.  The  auto- 
matic arrangement  will  no  more  discourage  the  present  method  than 

36 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


did  the  introduction  of  steam  curtail  the  business  of  printing,  or 
the  production  of  chromos  affect  the  art  of  painting. 

Having  everything  in  readiness  for  the  manufacture  of  these  in- 
struments, we  desire  to  say  that  in  their  construction  we  use  noth- 
ing but  the  best  of  material,  and  employ  none  but  skilled  mechanics, 
and  we  warrant  our  instruments  to  be  complete  in  their  minutest 
detail,  equalling  the  common  organ  in  quality  and  quantity  of  tone, 
with  an  unusual  solo  effect  characteristic  of  this  instrument  only, 
and  is  a very  model  of  simplicity,  durability  and  inexpensiveness. 

To  agents,  dealers,  etc.,  this  instrument  offers  a better  oppor- 
tunity of  making  money  than  anything  that  has  ever  been  presented 


in  this  line. 

Automatic  Organette,  four  octave,  single  reed $100.00 

Automatic  Organette,  four  octave,  two  sets  of  reeds 125.00 

Automatic  Organ,  with  keyboard,  five  octave,  single  reed.  ...  175.00 

Automatic  Organ,  with  keyboard  and  transposing  attachment  200.00 


Automatic  Organ,  two  sets  of  reeds,  JVIanual,  two  sets'  of 
reeds,  dynamic  and  transposing  attachments,  in  handsome 

cases  225.00 

Music  Boxes  or  Cases,  Street  or  Hand  Organs,  Orchestreenes,  etc., 
capable  of  playing  with  expression  and  not  limited  as  to  the  number 
of  tunes  made  to  order. 

For  further  particulars  address  the  Company,  Boston,  Mass. 

J.  McTammany,  Jr.  & Co. 

Notices  of  the  Press 

Automatic  Music. — In  this  age  of  wonders,  people  have  come  to 
look  composedly  upon  anything  supposed  impossible,  but  which, 
under  the  transmogrifying  touch  of  genius,  seems  easy.  But  now 
comes  a stunner,  an  eye-opener  in  music,  and  it  is  nothing  more 
or  less  than  a common  reed  organ,  on  which  anyone  who  never 
played  an  organ,  or  even  learned  the  difference  between  a gamut 
and  a cleff,  but  who  can  work  pedals,  can  play  any  tune.  This 
organ  is  the  product,  not  only  of  extraordinary  geniu;s,  but  of  six 
long  years  of  study  and  experiments  on  the  part  of  the  inventor, 
Mr.  John  McTammany.  Not  only  can  any  tune  be  played  by  simply 
blowing  the  bellows,  but  by  the  moving  of  a slide  a piece  may  be 
transposed  tjo  sharps  and  flats  at  pleasure,  while  any  kind  of  time 
and  any  key  may  be  arranged  for  the  organ.  Although  it  is  attached 
to  the  organ,  it  does  not  use  the  keys  or  reeds,  consequently  an 
accompaniment  may  be  played  to  the  music  of  the  Automatic  Organ. 
The  Automatic  Organ  is  so  constructed  as  to  attach  to  the  common 
organ  in  most  cases  without  changing  the  style  of  case.  The  in- 
ventor, Mr.  McTammany,  is  a young  man,  by  occupation  a music 
teacher.  We  have  seen  the  organ  and  heard  it  play  and  can  see 
no  reason  why  the  success  of  this  wonderful  invention  is  not  cer- 
tain. The  advantages  accruing  are  patent  at  a glance — putting 
music  into  every  home  without  the  tedium  and  expense  of  learning 
to  play. — St.  Louis  Daily  Journal,  July  9,  1876. 


37 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


A Wonderful  Instrument. — Mr.  John  McTammany,  who  is  now 
in  this  city,  has  invented  a very  wonderful  instrument  which  can 
be  attached  to  any  organ,  and  which  acts  as  an  automatic  performer 
of  music.  The  instrument  is  so  planned  that  any  composition,  how- 
ever difficult,  can  be  played  by  anyone  although  wholly  ignorant  of 
music.  The  invention  is  likely  tO'  cause  a revolution  in  musical  per- 
formances.— Boston  Daily  Evening  Traveller,  Oct.  4,  1876. 

An  Ingenious  Invention. — An  instrument  has  been  perfected  by 
Mr.  J.  McTammany  which  is  looked  upon  with  considerable  curiosity 
by  the  musical  world.  It  is  described  as  an  automatic,  transposing 
and  dynamic  organ,  and  is  capable  of  expression  at  the  will  of  the 
performer. — Frank  Leslie’s  Illustrated  Newspaper,  Sept.  30,  1876. 

A Musical  Novelty. — Mr.  John  McTammany  of  this  city  has  just 
completed  an  invention,  on  which  he  has  been  engaged  for  the  past 
six  years,  and  which  is  certainly  a curiosity.  He  calls  it  the  “Mc- 
Tammany Automatic  Organ,”  and  its  peculiarity  consists  in  the  fact 
that  it  will  play  accurately  and  tastefully  any  piece  of  music,  in 
any  key  or  measure,  the  notes  of  which  are  placed  in  the  instru- 
ment. The  notes  are  not  written  on  paper,  but  stamped  into  it, 
and  it  is  through  this  contrivance  that  the  organ  is  able  to  play 
them.  There  will  also  be  a contrivance  by  means  of  which  the  notes 
of  a tune  played  in  the  usual  way  on  the  keys  will  be  stamped  for 
use  on  the  automatic  organ,  which  it  is  thought  will  be  of  great 
advantage  to  composers. — St.  Louis  Republican,  June  21,  1876. 

Masterpiece  of  Ingenuity. — Mr.  John  McTammany,  for  some  time  a 
resident  of  this  city  and  an  instructor  of  music,  is  the  inventor  of 
a remarkably  unique  and  ingenious  musical  instrument,  the  drawings 
for  which  we  have  been  permitted  to  examine.  The  invention  covers 
several  points,  being  described  as  an  automatic  organ,  with  trans- 
posing and  dynamic  attachments.  In  producing  this  instrument,  Mr. 
McTammany  has  anticipated  the  wants  of  the  people  and  musicians. 
He  was  aware  that  the  crank,  by  its  monkey  associations,  had  come 
into  disrepute,  and  if  he  desired  the  good  will  of  the  profession, 
he  must  omit  it.  This  he  has  done,  and  where  mechanism  could  be 
dispensed  with  he  has  done  so.  There  is  no  spiked  barrel,  or 
cylinder  to  this  instrument,  as  it  plays  by  note. — Akron  Daily 
Beacon,  Aug.  30,  1876. 


38 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


Circular  Issued  in  1877. 

McTAMMANY’S  AUTOMATIC  ORGAN 


THE  PRINCIPAL  MUSICAL  INVENTION  OF  THE  AGE. 


A Cabinet  Organ  without  a Keyboard  to  Be  Manipulated  by  the 
Fingers  of  the  Performer. 

SIMPLE  IN  CONSTRUCTION! 

LOW  IN  PRICE!  DURABLE  IN  ALL  ITS  PARTS! 


May  Be  Used  in  Connection  with  Another  Instrument,  and  to 
Accompany  or  as  Principal. 


Old  Age  with  Its  Infirmities,  or  the  Inexperience  of  Childhood  Are 
No  Bars  to  its  Performance. 


EXAMINE  ITS  MERITS. 


Before  describing  this  wonderful  instrument  we  desire  briefly  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  public  to  a few  facts  in  connection  with 
the  history  of  musical  instruments  and  the  causes  that  led  to  the 
production  of  this  remarkable  invention,  and  the  consequent  ex- 
penditure of  a vast  amount  of  time  and  money. 

In  tracing  the  progress  of  music  from  the  earliest  recorded  his- 
tory, we  find  ourselves  notably  indebted  to  two  influences  for  our 
present  advancement  in  this  delightful  art,  viz. ; the  human  voice, 
and  the  entire  class  of  ancient  and  modern  musical  instruments. 
The  very  existence  of  instruments  indicates  that  the  human  voice 
is  not  the  embodiment  of  all  that  is  harmonious,  and  that  the  class 
of  people  born  with  musical  voices,  not  possessing  the  ability  to  play 
upon  instruments,  are  obliged  to  resort  to  mechanical  means  in  order 
to  gratify  their  love  for  instrumental  music. 

In  addition  to  the  class  above  mentioned  there  is  another,  the 
members  of  which  do  not  possess  musical  voices,  neither  have  they 
the  qualities  that  enable  them  to  perform  on  instruments,  yet  derive 
great  pleasure  from  “concord  of  sweet  sounds,”  and  as  they  are 
obliged  to  consult  the  convenience  and  pleasure  of  others  more 
musically  gifted,  who  are  generally  afflicted  with  a “bad  cold”  or 
have  “nothing  new  to  play,”  they  are  not  always  gratified. 

To  meet  the  wants  of  this  class  special  instruments  have  been 
produced,  prominent  among  which  are  the  hand  organ,  music  box 
and  orchestreen.  While  these  have  been  effective  in  a great  degree, 


39 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

yet  they  are  objectionable  on  account  of  their  mechanical  effect, 
want  of  expression,  and  limitation  of  tunes. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  it  would  be  impracticable  to  teach  the 
class  previously  referred  to,  who  have  no  faculty  for  receiving  a musi- 
cal education,  manufacturers  have  devised  mechanical  instruments 
in  the  hope  of  satisfying  their  needs.  The  English  produced  the 
“Antifinal,”  which  was  followed  by  the  “Pianista,”  a French  in- 
vention, while  Americans,  not  to  be  outdone,  have  given  to  the 
world  the  “Electric  Organ.”  Although  these  inventions  all  have 
merit  and  have  met  with  some  success,  they  possess  defects  which 
prevent  them  from  coming  into  general  use.  The  “Antifinal”  pos- 
sesses nothing  more  than  the  Hand  Organ;  the  “Pianista”  is  simply 
an  attachment  to  the  Piano,  monopolizing  the  keyboard,  and  costing 
$400  in  addition  to  the  cost  of  that  instrument;  while  the  very 
name  “Electric  Organ”  is  sufficient  evidence  of  its  impracticability, 
as  anyone  familiar  with  the  expense  and  fickleness  of  electro-mag- 
netism will  readily  admit,  and  the  price  of  the  cheapest  is  $750. 

Manufacturers  are  agreed,  that  to  successfully  occupy  this  field 
the  instrument  must  possess  all  the  merits  and  none  of  the  defects 
of  those  just  described,  must  be  in  some  respects  a substitute  for 
an  organist,  must  be  simple,  durable  and  inexpensive,  and  if  an 
attachment  must  not  interfere  with  the  principal  or  mechanism  of 
the  present  organ. 

The  inventor  of  the  AUTOMATIC  ORGAN,  Mr.  McTammany, 
has  had  seven  years’  training  in  mechanical  pursuits;  was  superin- 
tendent of  a large  manufacturing  establishment  before  he  attained 
his  majority;  a born  musician,  and  educated  in  the  best  institutions 
in  this  country.  Having  taught  music  and  been  identified  with  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  musical  instruments,  he  is  therefore  enabled 
to  anticipate  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  has  produced  an  organ 
embracing  not  only  the  foregoing  requirements  but  much  more,  as 
will  be  seen  by  a perusual  of  the  following: 

The  “Automatic”  is  an  organ  of  itself  without  a keyboard,  differ- 
ing from  the  Hand  Organ,  Music  Box  and  Orchestreen  in  that  it 
has  no  crank,  barrel  or  spiked  cylinder,  neither  is  it  limited  to  a 
certain  number  of  tunes,  nor  does  it  possess  their  mechanical  effect, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  is  capable  of  giving  great  expression.  It  is 
cased  similar  to  the  ordinary  parlor  organ,  having  pedals,  by  the 
use  of  which  the  instrument  is  operated.  Unlike  the  “Pianista”  in 
that  it  does  not  monopolize  the  keyboard,  is  not  so  complex,  the 
mechanism  being  made  of  metallic  substances  not  subject  to  at- 
mospheric changes,  while  it  costs  only  one-fourth  the  price.  It 
excels  the  “Magnetic  Organ”  in  economy  of  space,  costing  $650 
less;  needs  no  power  save  the  bellows,  which  are  operated  by  the 
feet  as  in  the  common  organ.  The  cost  of  the  music  (by  which  the 
instrument  is  operated)  will  be  almost  nothing  compared  with  the 
cost  of  printed  music. 

In  fact  this  instrument  is  not  only  organ  but  performer  also,  and 
will  play  an  unlimited  number  of  compositions  in  any  time  or  key 

40 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


within  the  register  of  the  instrument,  and  can  have  one  or  more 
sets  of  reeds,  or  can  be  attached  to  the  common  organ. 

The  advantages  of  this  instrument  are  obvious.  First: — For  $ioo 
and  upwards,  according  to  style  of  case,  we  furnish  an  “Automatic’* 
organ  with  dynamic  attachment.  Second: — For  $50  extra  a key- 

board is  added,  so  that  an  accompaniment  may  be  played  with  the 
hands,  while  the  “Automatic”  is  in  operation,  thus  giving  four-handed 
music.  Third: — A performer  on  the  flute,  violin  or  cornet  can  per- 
form on  both  instruments  at  the  same  time;  this  feature  is  of 
special  value  to  musicians.  Fourth: — In  singing  this  organ  will 

play  an  accompaniment,  or  the  melody  or  both.  Fifth: — For  $15 
extra  we  furnsh  a Transposing  attachment,  by  which,  if  a composi- 
tion is  too  high  or  too  low,  it  can  instantly,  by  the  use  of  a stop, 
be  changed  to  any  desired  key. 

The  “Automatic”  apparatus  may  be  added  as  an  attachment  to 
any  make  of  Cabinet  Organs  now  in  use,  but  as  this  is  more  readily 
and  easily  done  with  some  makes  than  others,  the  price  for  such 
attachment  will  vary  according  to  cost  of  preparation.  Applicants 
should  state  maker’s  name  and  style  of  instrument  for  which  they 
desire  the  attachment,  when  they  can  at  once  be  apprised  of  the  cost 
of  furnishing. 

Music  from  this  organ  is  produced  by  passing  a ribbon  of  per- 
forated cardboard  over  a set  of  pintles,  which  represent  the  nearest 
approach  to  a keyboard  found  in  the  instrument.  Whenever  a 
pintle  passes  through  a slot  in  the  ribbon,  wind  is  admitted  to  a 
corresponding  reed  which  at  once  sounds,  and  the  tone  is  prolonged 
while  the  pintle  is  in  the  slot.  By  this  means  harmony  may  be  pro- 
duced indefinitely,  or  as  full  as  a compass  of  the  reeds  will  admit, 
it  being  obvious  that  if  desired,  twenty  reeds  may  be  made  to  sound 
at  one  and  the  same  time,  all  contributing  an  element  to  the  chord. 
This  ribbon  is  perforated  by  a machine  especially  adapted  tO'  the 
purpose,  and  the  cost  of  music  will  be  but  trifling,  much  lower  than 
the  ordinary  sheet  music  of  the  depots.  Any  tune  or  selection  de- 
sired can  be  at  once  made  to  order,  and  thus  the  repertoire  of  one 
owning  a McTammany  Organ  is  limited  only  by  his  means  or  in- 
clinations. The  music  may  be  as  simple  or  involved  in  harmony 
as  desired,  and  the  same  piece  may  be  set  in  a dozen  different  ar- 
rangements. 

A feature  of  the  music  of  this  organ,  is  that  it  will  repeat  a 
piece  for  any  number  of  verses,  giving  an  interlude  if  desired,  so 
that  it  is  especially  adapted  to  society  use,  as  Free  Masons,  Odd 
Fellows,  or  Temperance  Organizations.  In  case  of  the  absence  of 
an  organist  at  one  of  these  metings  the  member  who  happens  to 
be  nearest  the  instrument  when  music  is  called  for,  may  take 
possession  of  the  player’s  seat  and  will  be  sure  to  perform  acceptably. 

The  movement  of  the  music  is  not  dependent  upon  or  controlled 
by  the  working  of  the  pedals,  and  the  feet  may  be  made  to  press 
them  slowly  or  quickly  without  affecting  this.  A stop  apparatus 


41 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


regulates  and  makes  uniform  the  movement  of  the  cylinders  over 
which  the  music  ribbon  passes,  and  the  revolution  of  these  cylinders 
determines  the  length  of  notes,  or  the  time  during  which  a tone  is 
continued. 

As  the  reeds  are  precisely  similar  in  their  character  to  those  of 
the  ordinary  Cabinet  Organ,  all  the  stops  in  use  in  the  latter  in- 
strument may  be  continued  or  applied  in  the  Automatic  Organ. 
Expression  is  regulated  by  the  Knee  Swell. 

Transposition  of  music  from  one  key  to  another  is  elfected  by 
a movable  plate,  simple  in  construction  and  working,  and  presenting 
no  difficulties  in  its  use  which  a child  may  not  readily  overcome. 

This  instrument  is  not  complicated  in  its  mechanism  and  will  not 
readily  get  out  of  order.  In  this  respect  it  is  not  inferior  to  any 
other  musical  instrument.  Its  parts  are  strongly  made,  and  it  has 
no  delicate  adjustments,  constantly  liable  to  confusion  or  breakage. 

In  short,  this  Organ  will  prove  precisely  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
families,  associations,  religious  societies  or  individuals,  and  no  com- 
munity can  be  so  far  advanced  in  musical  culture  as  to  be  without 
occasion  for  its  services,  while  in  neighborhoods  where  the  pursuits 
of  the  people,  the  educational  advantages,  and  other  considerations 
render  it  difficult  or  undesirable  to  employ  teachers,  or  where  the 
knowledge  of  musical  performance  has  been  neglected,  the  Automatic 
Organ  will  be  found  of  incalculable  benefit. 


Notices  of  the  Press 

WHEREVER  THIS  WONDERFUL  INSTRUMENT  HAS  BEEN 
EXHIBITED  IT  HAS  RECEIVED  ONLY  COMMENDATORY 
NOTICES.  FOLLOWING  WE  GIVE  A FEW  OF  THE  MANY 
PRESS  NOTICES  RECEIVED: 

Mr.  John  McTammany  has  invented  a musical  instrument  which  is 
destined  to  work  a revolution  in  automatic  musical  machines  wherever 
it  becomes  known. — Leader. 


It  would  be  imposible  to  give  a word  description  of  this  wonder- 
ful invention. — Jean  White’s  Musical  Monthly. 


A musical  wonder  has  been  invented  by  Mr.  J.  McTammany,  well 
known  as  one  of  the  prominent  workers  in  the  temperance  reform 
in  this  city.  This  is  an  automatic  organ,  set  in  a case  like  an  up- 
right pianoforte.  It  is  capable  of  playing  any  kind  of  music  with 
correct  musical  expression. — Cambridge  Chronicle. 

An  automatic  organ  without  crank,  barrel,  or  spiked  cylinder. — 
Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

There  has  been  a great  deal  of  curiosity  manifested  by  those  in- 
terested in  musical  mechanism,  in  the  McTammany  Automatic  Organ. 

42 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

* * * It  is  equally  well  adaptped  to  sacred  or  secular  music, 

and  the  simplest  air  or  the  most  complex  harmony  can  be  performed 
upon  it. — Boston  Sunday  Times. 

Destined  to  work  a revolution  in  musical  instruments. — Goulland’s 
Musical  Monthly. 


A novelty  in  musical  instruments,  which  is  sure  to  commend 
itself  to  a multitude  of  people,  is  McTammany’s  Automatic  Organ. 
It  presents  the  same  appearance  as  an  ordinary  cabinet  organ;  yet 
it  is  without  a keyboard,  and  the  youngest  child,  as  well  as  the 
oldest  of  the  old,  can  evoke  music  from  its  hidden  harmonies,  as 
well  as  the  most  skillful  musician.  It  is,  indeed,  organ  and  per- 
former also.  * * * The  advantages  of  the  instruments  are 

obvious.  Knowledge  of  music  is  not  a pre-requisite  for  the  proper 
using  of  the  McTammany  Organ;  and  the  player  can  give  the  ac- 
companiment to  his  own  music  by  violin,  cornet  or  flute.  Mr.  Mc- 
Tammany’s system  is  applicable  to  pipe  organ  and  piano,  as  well 
as  reed  organ. — Sunday  Globe. 


A masterpiece  of  ingenuity. — Akron,  Ohio,  Daily  Beacon. 


Mr.  John  McTammany,  Jr.,  has  produced  a wonderful  invention 
in  the  shape  of  an  automatic  organ,  with  transposing  and  dynamic 
attachments,  that  will  play  any  piece  of  music,  in  any  key  or 
measure,  without  the  skill  of  a performer.  It  is  a masterpiece  of 
ingenuity,  and  destined  to  work  a revolution  in  musical  instruments. 
— Cambridge  Press. 


The  latest  musical  wonder. — Boston  Daily  Globe. 


Mr.  John  McTammany  has  invented  a new  musical  instrument, 
* * * capable  of  playing  any  kind  of  music  with  correct  musical 

expression,  working  only  by  foot  pedals. — Cambridge  Tribune. 


A singular  invention  which  is  certainly  a curiosity. — St.  Louis 
Republican. 


The  McTammany  Automatic  Organ  is  certainly  a remarkable  in- 
vention and  will  create  a sensation  in  the  amateur  and  professional 
musical  world. — Boston  Traveler. 


The  latest  thing  astonishing  the  world. — Boston  Com.  Bulletin. 


The  McTammany  Automatic  Organ  is  designed  to  meet  a want 
for  an  instrument  which  may  be  played  satisfactorily,  even  if  the 
performer  has  no  knowledge  of  music  practically. — Saturday  Evening 
Gazette. 


43 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


The  McTammany  Automatic  Organ  is  the  product  of  extraordinary 
genius. — St.  Louis  Sunday  Journal. 


A Musical  Novelty. — One  John  McTammany,  a citizen  of  St.  Louis, 
but  now  sojourning  in  Boston,  has  invented  a musical  instrument, 
which  he  claims,  and  the  proposition  has  a reasonable  look,  is 
destined  to  work  a revolution  in  automatic  musical  instruments, 
wherever  it  becomes  known.  Mr.  McTammany’s  organ  will  play 
any  nameable  tune,  in  any  key  or  time;  by  the  aid  of  a stop  it  will 
transpose  a composition  into  any  desired  key;  the  performer,  having 
hands  at  liberty,  can  play  at  the  same  time,  as  principal  or  accom- 
paniment, a flute,  violin  or  cornet;  or  the  organ  will  play  an  ac- 
companiment only  to  a song.  It  is  capable  of  as  much  variety  of 

expression  as  the  ordinary  cabinet  organ,  but  it  is  impossible  to 

give  a word  description  of  this  singular  instrument  which  would  be 
understood  by  the  reader.  Its  cost  will  not  exceed  $150. — (Boston) 
Sunday  Herald,  Jan.  28,  1877. 


A wonderful  invention,  an  instrument  which  produces  an  infinite 
variety  of  tunes  without  skill. — Boston  Sunday  Herald. 


The  product  of  extraordinary  genius. — St.  Louis  Sunday  Journal. 


An  ingenious  invention  which  is  looked  upon  with  considerable 
curiosity  by  the  musical  world. — Frank  Leslie’s  Illustrated  News- 
paper. 

It  is  a great  curiosity. — Dexter  Smith’s  Musical  Monthly. 

A specimen  Organ  will  be  placed  on  exhibiton  in 
CriICKERING’S  PIANaFORTE  WAREROOMS, 
in  Boston, 

About  August  20,  1878, 

And  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  and  all  large  cities 
soon  after. 

For  terms  or  information  apply  to 
John  McTammany,  Jr.,  No.  73  Main  Street, 
Cambridgeport,  Mass. 

Furthermore  I had  to  dispense  with  the  costly  and  com- 
plicated intervening  mechanism  and  use  the  paper  as  a valve 
direct;  that  is,  the  air  went  direct  through  the  paper  and 
into  the  reed. 

Having  filed  the  caveat  covering  my  invention  in  the  fall 
of  1876,  I had  two  years  in  which  to  apply  for  my  patent. 
But  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  I had  been  sold  out  re- 


44 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 
peatedly  and  driven  from  one  place  to  another  so  that  I 
had  the  utmost  difficulty  in  keeping  together  my  little  busi- 
ness. Therefore  the  expense  of  taking  out  a patent  at  that 
time  and  under  such  circumstances  was  entirely  out  of  the 
question.  But  gradually  I got  in  shape  and  could  pay  my 
help  weekly  and  bills  monthly.  Then  I concluded  to  take  a 
look  backward  and  see  how  I stood  in  the  Patent  Office. 

As  a result  I found  that  I had  no  standing  whatever;  that 
I had  been  guilty  of  latches.  In  other  words,  I had  been 
found  guilty  of  being  too  poor  to  protect  myself.  I had 
failed  to  take  out  a patent  within  the  two  years,  prescribed 
by  law,  and  therefore  my  inventions  which  had  cost  me 
over  ten  years'  labor  and  thousands  of  dollars  in  money 
had  been  declared  public  property  and  that  any  piano  or 
organ  company  could  manufacture  them  in  defiance  of  my 
claims  as  the  original  inventor. 

If  that  had  been  all  I might  have  smothered  my  disap- 
pointment and  congratulated  myself  that  things  were  no 
worse.  But  what  I did  find  was  that  others  having  seen  my 
drawings  and  inventions  in  my  tour  of  the  piano  and  or- 
gan factories  of  the  country  had  taken  out  patents  cover- 
ing my  inventions  and  were  threatening  to  close  me  up  and 
prevent  me  from  duplicating  the  instrument  invented  and 
publicly  exhibited  by  me  years  before  in  St.  Louis.  That 
forced  me  to  take  issue  with  the  patent  pirates  by  filing  an 
application  in  the  Patent  Office  broad  enough  to  cover  the 
line  I was  manufacturing,  whereupon  interferences  were 
declared  between  myself  and  the  pirates  referred  to.  As  a 
result  of  the  contest  I was  declared  to  be  the  original  and 
prior  inventor  of  the  fundamental  elements  of  the  modern 
player  and  that  the  others  had  obtained  their  patents  ‘‘sur- 
reptitiously,” as  witness  the  following  decision  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Patents : 


45 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


The  decision  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  in  McTam- 
many  versus  Needham: 

“The  testimony  on  behalf  of  Needham,  the  patentee,  shows  that 
the  invention  here  involved  was  conceived  and  disclosed  by  him  to 
others  as  early  as  the  latter  part  of  January  or  the  first  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1877,  and  was  with  diligence  reduced  to  practice,  and  was 
patented  November,  1877.  It  is  incumbent  upon  McTammany,  in 
order  to  show  himself  entitled  to  letters  patent,  to  adduce  such  evi- 
dence as  would  suffice  in  the  courts  to  invalidate  the  patent  already 
issued  to  his  opponent.  The  decisions  of  the  office  to  this  effect 
have  been  both  nmnerous  and  uniform. 

“I  cannot  concur  with  the  statement  of  counsel  for  Needham  that 
in  order  to  defeat  a patent  an  applicant  must  show  that  he  con- 
ceived the  invention  and  reduced  the  same  to  practice  before  the 
time  at  which  such  invention  was  conceived  by  the  patentee.  On 
the  contrary,  the  statute  expressly  provides  that  it  is  sufficient  to 
defeat  the  rights  of  a patentee  to  show  that  he  had  surreptitiously 
or  unjustly  obtained  the  patent  for  that  which  was,  in  fact,  invented 
by  another  who  was  using  reasonable  diligence  in  adapting  and 
perfecting  the  same. 

“A  fair  reading  of  the  testimony  submitted  on  behalf  of  McTam- 
many satisfies  me  that  the  invention  in  controversy  was  conceived 
by  him  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1876,  and  prior  to  the  last  of 
January,  1877,  was  disclosed  by  him  to  others  and  was  embodied 
in  an  operative  instrument.  Whether  this  machine  was  or  was  not 
a full  reduction  to  practice  of  the  invention  is  a question  not  ma- 
terial in  my  findings  here.  Qearly  this  machine  was  sufficient  to 
evidence  a full  conception  of  the  invention  and  an  attempt  to  em- 
body the  same  in  practical  form. 

“Were  it  to  be  regarded  as  a complete  reduction  to  practice  the 
discussion  of  the  case  might  end  here  since  this  would  clearly  be 
sufficient  to  establish  the  rights  of  the  applicants  and  defeat  those 
of  the  patentee. 

“Regarding  such  machine,  however,  as  but  evidence  of  conception, 
it  is  necessary  for  the  applicant  to  go  a step  further  and  show  that 
lie  used  reasonable  diligence  in  the  reduction  of  the  invention  to 
ipractice. 

“This  I think  he  has  done.  In  November,  1877,  he  constructed 
:a  full  sized  organ,  which  embodied  the  invention  here  at  issue, 
and  which  is  exhibited  in  the  case.  During  the  interval  between 
December,  1876,  and  November,  1877,  McTammany  was  using  every 
reasonable  effort  consistent  with  his  circumstances  to  perfect  and 
secure  the  adoption  by  others  of  his  improvements  in  this  class  of 
invention.  Diligence  in  perfecting  an  invention  is  a relative  matter, 
and  the  law  does  not  require  that  an  inventor  who  is  engaged  in 
developing  a number  of  improvements  at  the  same  time  should  de- 
vote all  his  time  and  energy  to  any  one  at  the  expense  of  the  others. 

“I  cannot  therefore  regard  the  early  efforts  of  the  applicant  as 


46 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


abandoned  experiments.  His  diligence  was  such,  in  my  judgment, 
as  to  entitle  to  carry  back  his  invention  to  the  time  of  its  concep- 
tion, and  thus  to  antidate  the  invention  of  his  opponent.  When  an 
applicant  has  once  reduced  an  invention  to  practice  the  question 
of  diligence  in  applying  for  a patent  is  one  between  him  and  the 
public,  for,  while  lack  of  diligence  in  coming  to  the  office  may  enter 
as  a vital  element  in  the  question  whether  the  completed  invention 
has  been  abandoned  by  him  to  the  public,  it  cannot  serve  to  undo 
the  consummated  work  of  invention,  and  thus  allow  the  patent  to 
be  issued  to  one  who  is  not,  in  fact,  the  first  inventor.  I must 
hold,  therefore,  that  McTammany  has,  by  proof  sufficient  to  defeat 
the  patent  of  his  adversary,  shown  himself  entitled  to  a patent  and 
I must  hold  further  that  the  invention  does  not  appear  to*  have 
been  abandoned  by  him  to  the  public. 

“The  concurred  decisions  of  the  examiner  of  interferences  and 
the  board  of  examiner  in  chief  awarding  the  priority  of  invention  to 
McTammany  are  accordingly  confirmed.” 

The  foregoing  is  only  one  of  a number  of  similar  de- 
cisions rendered  by  the  Comimssioner  of  Patents  in  which 
most  of  the  essential  elements  of  the  instruments  manufac- 
tured at  that  time  were  in  controversy  and  in  each  in- 
stance the  decision  was  in  favor  of  John  McTammany. 

But  it  is  out  of  the  question  in  a work  of  the  present 
dimensions  to  include  all  the  decisions  relating  to  the 
issue. 

As  a result  of  the  hearings,  referred  to,  which  covered  a 
period  of  years,  I was  enabled  to  manufacture  unmolested 
my  own  inventions.  But  the  end  was  not  yet.  My  oppon- 
ents, still  bent  upon  my  destruction,  set  to  work  to  corner 
the  musical  publications  and  thus  cripple  my  business  by 
preventing  me  from  furnishing  a suitable  supply  of  music, 
for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  we  were  manufacturing 
music  as  well  as  instruments.  And  to  this  end  they  brought 
suit  in  the  U.  S.  Court,  alleging  that  the  perforated  sheet 
manufactured  by  us  was  an  infringement  of  copyrighted 
music.  I did  not  want  to  fight;  I could  better  afford  to 
pay  a reasonable  royalty  and  was  ready  and  willing  to 
do,  for  the  use  of  all  copyright  music.  But  the  pub- 


47 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


lishers  declined  to  accept  my  offer  or  to  submit  any  propo- 
sition for  settlement  and  pressed  the  case  in  court,  with 
the  result  that  I won  a victory  over  them.  Then  they 
amended  their  bill  of  complaint  and  it  was  tried  before 
another  U.  S.  Judge  and  again  I won.  Then  they  appealed 
to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  but  when  it 
came  to  trial  they  left  the  case  go  by  default,  paying  all 
costs. 

Meantime  my  business  had  prospered  and  we  were  occu- 
pying three  buildings  in  Cambridgeport,  Mass.,  manufactur- 
ing organettes,  automatic  organs,  melodeons,  and  music. 
And  as  Worcester,  Mass.,  at  that  time  was  headquarters  for 
musical  instrument  supplies  a large  amount  of  our  raw 
material,  such  as  reeds,  reed  boards,  etc.,  came  from  there. 
Having  received  an  invitation  to  move  our  works  to  that 
city  the  invitation  was  finally  accepted  and  we  moved  our 
business  to  Worcester,  where  we  continued  to  manufacture 
instruments  and  music  as  before.  And  the  Mechanical 
Orguinette  Company,  now  known  as  the  Aeolian  Company, 
and  ourselves  were  regarded  as  the  leading  concerns  in  the 
perforated  musical  instrument  business.  At  that  time  the 
Munroe  Organ  Reed  Company,  of  Worcester,  manufac- 
tured all  the  instruments  sold  by  the  Mechanical  Orguinette 
Company.  My  patent  having  finally  been  issued,  I brought 
suit  in  the  U.  S.  Court  against  the  Munroe  Company,  man- 
ufacturers of  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company's  line 
for  infringement,  and  after  the  evidence  had  been  taken  it 
was  found  that  Frank  Stone,  superintendent  of  the  Munroe 
Company  had  admitted  under  oath  on  the  witness  stand 
that  the  instruments  manufactured  by  the  Munroe  Com- 
pany infringed  the  McTammany  patents.  This  led  to  a 
conference  between  the  Munroe  Company  and  ourselves, 
and  at  this  conference  the  Munroe  Company  recognized  me 
48 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


as  the  pioneer  in  the  player  industry,  admitting  that  they 
had  infringed  the  McTammany  patents,  but  would  prefer 
to  recognize  my  claims  and  pay  a royalty.  This  proposition 
I took  under  advisement. 


49 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Munroe  Organ  Reed  Company  was  the  largest 
manufacturer  of  perforated  paper  musical  instruments 
in  the  country  at  that  time  and  supplied  the  Mechanical  Or- 
guinette  Company,  Gaily  and  others  with  all  the  instru- 
ments sold  by  them.  The  company  had  a magnificent 
plant  and  an  abundance  of  capital,  and  as  I was  anxious 
to  avoid  litigation  and  devote  all  my  time  to  experiments 
in  the  further  development  of  the  player,  I concluded  to 
accept  the  company’s  proposition  and  did  so  at  a subse- 
quent conference,  at  which  it  was  agreed  to  pay  me  a 
substantial  royalty  on  all  instruments  manufactured  by  the 
Munroe  Company  and  every  foot  of  music  which  it  sold. 
This  led  to  a subsequent  agreement  whereby  I agreed  to 
altogether  discontinue  the  manufacture  of  instruments  and 
devoted  my  time  wholly  to  the  further  development  of  the 
player.  In  conformity  with  this  resolution  I hired  a build- 
ing in  Herman  street,  Worcester,  and  fitted  it  up  for  ex- 
perimental purposes.  There  I installed  William  D.  Parker 
and  two  others,  and  there  in  the  eighties  I applied  the 
pneumatic  player  mechanism  to  the  Hallet  & Cumston  pi- 
ano; built  the  direct  mechanical  banjo,  also  the  electric 
banjo  with  reed  attachment  and  in  various  other  ways  de- 
50 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


veloped  and  advanced  the  art.  The  Munroe  Company  was 
cognizant  of  what  I was  doing  at  Herman  street  and  began 
to  feel  that  a still  closer  alliance  between  it  and  ourselves 
would  be  mutually  beneficial.  It  was  finally  arranged  that  I 
move  my  experimental  department  to  the  Munroe  plant, 
and  there  take  charge  of  their  experimental  department, 
which  I did.  This  brought  William  D.  Parker,  Frank 
Stone,  W.  F.  Ewell  and  the  writer — four  of  the  ablest  men 
in  the  player  industry  at  that  time — under  the  same  roof. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company  had 
dominated  the  Munroe  Organ  Reed  Company  and  its  or- 
ders ran  into  thousands  of  instruments  per  month.  But 
now  the  Munroe  Company  felt  independent  of  the  Me- 
chanical Orguinette  Company  and  friction  began  to  develop 
between  the  two  concerns.  About  the  same  time  an  in- 
terference arose  in  the  patent  office  between  the  patent 
applications  of  Robert  Pain,  representing  the  Mechanical 
Orguinette  Company  and  Frank  Stone  of  the  Munroe 
Company  and  Gaily  of  New  York,  so  James  H.  Morgan, 
president  of  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company  allied 
himself  with  the  Munroe  Company  at  least  for  the  time. 
A compact  was  made  between  the  Munroe  Company  and 
Mechanical  Orguinette  Company,  whereby  they  were  to 
unite  against  Gaily.  Dickinson  and  Brown  of  New  York 
appeared  for  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company.  Capt. 
Bartlett  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  represented  Gaily,  while 
I held  a power  of  attorney  on  behalf  of  Frank  Stone  and 
the  Munroe  Company.  Thereupon  the  fight  began.  I 
knew  that  we  could  beat  Gaily,  in  which  case  the  Mechan- 
ical Orguinette  Company  planned  to  take  him  over,  bag 
and  baggage,  and  when  this  was  accomplished  I was  confi- 
dent that  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company  would  re- 
train its  batteries  against  the  Munroe  Company  and  the 

SI 


tjHlVtRSltV 


0F 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

writer.  So  I began  to  make  my  plan?  to  checkmate  the 
move. 

I had  no  admiration  for  Gaily  any  more  than  I had  for 
Morgan;  nor  did  the  Munroe  Company  have  any  for 
Gaily.  The  company  had  had  business  relations  with  him  but 
they  were  unsatisfactory  and  had  anyone  else  but  Mor- 
gan been  at  the  head  of  the  Orguinette  Company  we  would 
gladly  have  co-operated  with  him  to  eliminate  Gaily.  I 
had  fought  Morgan  for  years;  the  Munroe  Company  was 
also  antagonistic  to  him.  So  in  a choice  betewen  Gaily 
and  Morgan  we  chose  an  alliance  with  Gaily,  but  how  to 
bring  it  about  was  the  rub. 

We  did  not  dare  approach  Gaily  on  the  subject  for  we 
knew  if  we  did  he  would  go  up  in  the  air,  for  in  my  opin- 
ion he  was  vain,  egotistical  and  conceited.  So  we  had  to 
manage  it  in  such  a way  that  he  would  come  to  us  instead 
of  our  going  to  him.  I had  no  intention  of  trying  to  over- 
reach him  in  the  deal.  He  had  some  patents  of  value  which 
we  recognized. 

The  case  was  now  in  court,  and  Gaily  had  been  on  the 
stand  several  hours  and  was  breaking  down.  Everybody 
realized  it;  so  he  was  setting  up  all  kinds  of  pretexts  and 
excuses  to  escape  from  further  gruelling,  but  counsel  for 
Morgan  was  bent  upon  keeping  him  on  the  stand.  I con- 
cluded that  the  time  had  arrived  to  take  Gaily  into  the  Mun- 
roe camp,  but  I also  knew  that  it  would  not  do  for  me  to 
directly  approach  him.  I must  have  a go-between. 

Gaily  had  two  brothers,  one  a very  reasonable  and  ap- 
proachable fellow,  the  other  struck  one  as  being  even  more 
vain  than  Gaily  himself,  and  unfortunately  of  the  two,  the 
latter  had  the  greater  influence  over  the  inventor.  I chose 
the  more  sensible  of  Merritt^s  brothers,  through  and  by 
whom  to  reach  the  inventor.  When  he  got  off  the  stand 

52 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


the  afternoon  of  the  first  day,  he  was  in  a sorry  plight, 
and  feared  the  coming  morrow.  Now  while  I held  a power 
of  attorney  for  Frank  Stone  and  had  a right  to  cross- 
examine  Gaily,  on  the  stand,  yet  I refrained  from  so  doing 
as  much  as  I could,  which  greatly  disturbed  Stone,  for  I 
had  not  disclosed  my  plans  to  him  or  to  any  one  else,  not 
even  to  Charles  Fisher,  the  president  of  our  company.  But 
I had  drawn  up  a tentative  agreement  such  as  I wanted 
Gaily  to  sign  and  had  it  in  my  pocket  all  the  time  I sat 
there,  taking  testimony  before  the  master.  On  the  other 
hand,  Mr.  Morgan  and  his  counsel  had  nettled  and  exas- 
perated Gaily  beyond  all  reason.  I pursued  the  opposite 
course  and  I realized  how  bitter  Gaily  felt  toward  Morgan 
and  his  attorneys. 

When  Gaily  reached  home,  his  brother  had  a talk  with 
him  and  asked  him  why  he  did  not  seek  an  alliance  with 
the  Munroe  people.  He  replied  that  it  was  impossible 
But  the  brother  persisted  and  finally  asked  him  for  permis- 
sion to  meet  me  and  with  the  utmost  reluctance,  Gaily 
agreed.  So  the  brother  called  upon  me  at  the  St.  George 
Hotel,  where  I was  stopping,  and  informed  me  that  he 
had  arranged  a meeting  between  his  brother  and  myself. 
In  accordance  with  this  arrangement  I met  him  in  the 
grill  room  of  the  Murray  Hill  Hotel  and  at  once  entered 
into  negotiations.  The  whole  situation  was  canvassed  and 
he  devoted  most  of  his  time  to  a denunciation  of  Mr. 
Morgan  and  his  counsel,  whom  he  cordially  hated,  and  it 
was  upon  this  very  hatred  that  I relied  for  my  success,  if 
I did  succeed  in  landing  hm  under  the  Munroe  roof.  He 
proceeded  to  draw  up  an  agreement  and  wanted  me  to 
sign  it  then  and  there,  but  I promptly  refused.  Had  I 
signed  that  agreement  the  Munroe  Company  might  as 
well  have  put  on  their  hats  and  passed  out  from  under  their 


53 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

own  roof,  for,  as  a matter  of  fact,  it  covered  everything. 
I fully  made  up  my  mind,  however,  that  I had  Gaily  at 
my  mercy  and  all  that  remained  for  me  to  do  was  to  stand 
by  my  guns,  and  I stood.  It  was  late  that  night  when  we 
parted  and  when  we  did  separate  it  was  with  the  under- 
standing that  Gaily  would  draw  up  an  agreement  for  me 
to  consider  and  I would  draw  up  one  for  him  to  sign.  I 
knew  that  he  could  not  draw  up  an  agreement  that  I would 
approve;  that  is,  I knew  that  anything  he  drew  up  would 
be  like  the  handle  on  a jug — all  on  one  side  and  in  his 
interest.  I made  up  my  mind  that  I would  not  modify 
the  agreement  I had  drawn  up,  so  he  took  the  stand  the 
next  morning  and  endured  another  day's  agony  and  when 
it  was  time  to  adjourn  he  was  pretty  well  used  up.  On 
the  witness  stand  he  could  shed  tears,  plenty  of  them. 

When  we  met  at  the  Murray  Hill  that  night,  as  per 
agreement,  and  Gaily  produced  his  document,  I simply 
took  a glance  at  it;  threw  it  down  upon  the  table,  grabbed 
my  hat,  and  left  the  hotel.  I had  not  been  seated  half  an 
hour  in  my  hotel  when  Gally’s  brother  entered.  I knew 
Gaily  would  not  let  the  case  go  by  default  and  further- 
more I knew  that  he  would  not  endure  another  day’s 
agony  on  the  stand.  He  had  come  to  realize  that  he  could 
not  trifle  with  me.  In  fine.  Gaily  began  to  understand  that 
he  was  between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea,  and  for  once  he 
would  have  come  down  from  his  lofty  perch.  He  also 
knew  that  his  only  salvation  lay  in  an  unconditional  sur- 
render to  the  Munroe  Company.  That  was  something  he 
had  never  done  in  his  life  before,  and  he  hated  mightily 
to  do  it  now.  So,  Mohammed  came  to  the  mountain;  that 
is,  he  had  followed  me  to  my  hotel  and  sent  his  brother 
to  find  out  if  I was  in.  When  his  brother  reported  in  the 


54 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 
affirmative,  he  came  in  and  was  as  pleasant  and  smiling 
as  a basket  of  chips. 

He  then  asked  to  see  the  agreement  I had  drawn  up.  I told 
him  it  was  useless  as  it  did  not  contain  one-tenth  part  of 
the  concessions  he  demanded  in  his  paper.  Still  he  per- 
sisted and  finally  I showed  it  to  him.  He  said  he  never 
would  sign  that  agreement  in  the  world.  I told  him  he 
never  would  sign  any  other  if  I had  my  way  about  it,  so  I 
folded  up  the  paper  and  put  it  back  in  my  pocket,  and 
walked  out  of  the  room.  I had  often  met  him  and  was 
perfectly  familiar  with  his  methods,  and  I knew  him  to 
be  artful,  and  cunning  in  drawing  up  papers,  for  he  was, 
and  prided  himself  on  being,  a lawyer — a patent  solicitor, — 
and  various  other  things. 

The  agreement  I had  prepared  was  liberal  and  fair,  and 
he  was  satisfied  with  the  royalty  he  was  to  receive;  in 
fact,  I accorded  him  the  same  terms  that  I was  myself 
receiving.  But  my  name  as  inventor  appeared  on  all  in- 
struments manufactured  by  the  Munroe  Organ  Reed  Com- 
pany. The  new  agreement  put  both  our  names  on  the 
goods.  He  wanted  my  name  to  be  erased  and  only  his  to 
appear.  Furthermore,  he  wanted  all  subsequent  agreements 
entered  into  by  the  company  to  be  submitted  to  him  for 
his  approval  before  he  would  sign.  He  wanted  all  contem- 
plated changes  or  improvements  in  the  instruments  submit- 
ted to  him  for  his  approval,  and  liberty  to  enter  the  works 
of  the  company  at  any  time  and  access  to  the  books,  which 
were  to  be  opened  for  his  inspection  and  a hundred  and  one 
other  arbitrary  and  onerous  provisions  and  conditions.  Not 
one  of  these  concessions  appeared  in  the  agreement  drawn 
up  by  me  and  I positively  and  emphatically  declined  to  in- 
corporate them  within  it.  He  then  wanted  me  to  wire 
President  Fisher  to  come  to  New  York.  I asked  him  why 

55 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


he  hadn’t  wired  him  himself.  But  he  knew  better.  He 
knew  he  could  not  induce  Fisher  to  come  to  New  York 
and  I abo  knew  it.  If  Fisher  came  it  would  be  in  response 
to  my  request,  and  the  only  condition  upon  which  I would 
call  him  and  the  only  purpose  would  be  to  witness  Gallos 
signature  to  the  agreement  I had  in  my  pocket.  And  Gaily 
was  coming  to  realize  rhat  to  be  a fact  He  finally  agreed 
that  if  I would  induce  Fisher  to  come  to  New  York  and 
he  could  not  prevail  upon  him  to  grant  better  terms,  he 
would  sign  the  agreement  just  as  I had  drawn  it  up. 

So  I drew  up  a letter  to  that  effect  which  I asked  him 
to  sign,  but  he  declined,  saying  he  regarded  it  as  an  insult, 
etc.  But  at  last  he  signed  it,  nevertheless.  There  was  just 
time  to  write  a letter  and  get  it  off  by  the  last  mail  to 
Worcester  that  night,  so  having  mailed  my  letter  to  Fisher, 
president  of  the  Munroe  Company,  requesting  him  to  come 
to  New  York,  Gaily  and  I returned  to  the  Murray  Hill 
Hotel. 

Now  that  we  had  reached  an  understanding,  he  looked  to 
me  to  arrange  matters  so  he  would  not  have  to  face  Mor- 
gan and  his  counsel  on  the  witness  stand  the  following  day, 
for  no  sooner  than  he  signed  the  letter  referred  to  than 
his  mind  reverted  to  the  morrow,  Morgan  and  the  witness 
stand.  He  was  actually  in  terror  at  the  thought  of  it.  So 
it  was  up  to  me  to  devise  some  way  to  save  him  from  the 
ordeal.  I was  suffering  from  sore  throat  and  was  under 
treatment.  Mr.  Brown,  Morgan’s  counsel,  had  repeatedly 
advised  me  during  the  trial  to  consult  a specialist.  But  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  stick  it  out,  to  the  end,  although  my 
condition  had  caused  a pause  in  the  proceedings  during  a 
portion  of  the  day.  So  I called  upon  Brown  early  the  next 
morning  and  asked  him  to  put  the  trial  over  at  least  until 
noon  while  I consulted  a specialist.  This  he  consented  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


do.  Then  he  called  up  Capt.  Bartlett,  Gally’s  counsel,  to 
arrange  with  him.  Bartlett  asked  Brown  to  put  it  off  until 
the  following  day.  In  that  case  he  could  visit  the  firing 
grounds  at  Sandy  Hook,  where  he  was  testing  a gun  of 
his  own  invention.  Brown  consented,  and  thus  Gaily  es- 
caped the  witness  stand. 

Gaily  made  a very  poor  witness  and  conducted  himself 
in  such  a manner  during  the  trial  that  his  own  counsel 
had  repeatedly  threatened  to  withdraw  from  the  case. 
Gaily  regarded  people  with  suspicion ; seemed  to  think  that 
every  question  put  to  him  was  a trap,  so  he  would  frame 
his  replies  in  such  a manner  that  he  could  back  out  of  any 
testimony  given,  which  led  Capt.  Bartlett,  his  own  counsel, 
to  observe  to  Mr.  Brown  and  myself,  one  day  after  ad- 
journment, and  by  way  of  illustrating  Gally’s  methods: 
'*Oh  God,  if  there  be  a God,  save  my  soul,  if  I have  a soul, 
from  hell,  if  there  is  a hell.”  Just  so  ambiguous  was  Gaily 
in  giving  his  testimony. 

But  the  day  had  passed,  Charles  Fisher  president  of  the 
Munroe  Organ  Reed  Company,  had  arrived  at  the  Murray 
Hill  Hotel,  where  he  had  agreed  to  meet  Frank  Stone,  as 
well  as  myself — although  I knew  nothing  of  the  meeting 
between  Stone  and  Fisher.  Before  coming  to  New  York 
to  take  testimony,  I sat  down  with  Stone  and  went  into 
his  relations  with  Gaily.  He  had  been  in  charge  of  the 
Gaily  line  of  instruments  and  had  to  meet  Gaily  on  his 
visits  to  the  factory  Gaily  had  found  much  fault  with  the 
goods  and  had  been  repeatedly  in  controversy  with  Stone. 
Consequently  Stone  hated  Gaily.  He  had  done  much  to 
develop  Gally’s  line  of  goods,  manufactured  by  the  Munroe 
Company,  of  which  he  was  superintendent,  and  also  a 
stockholder,  but  instead  of  earning  Gally’s  gratitude  and 
good  will  he  had  incurred  his  displeasure  and  hatred,  so 


57 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

that  Gaily  and  Stone  cordially  disliked  each  other.  And 
now  that  they  were  to  meet  before  a master  in  a court 
of  jurisprudence,  Stone  felt  that  the  hour  of  his  revenge 
had  arrived,  and  he  was  looking  forward  with  supreme 
satisfaction  to  the  hour  when  he  would  meet  Gaily  in  court. 
I had  framed  my  questions  which  I had  intended  to  put  up  to 
Gaily,  when  the  time  came.  But  that  time  never  arrived, 
for  if  I had  exasperated  him  and  incurred  his  hatred  and 
displeasure  I should  have  failed  to  carry  out  my  main 
object.  I therefore  handed  the  list  of  questions  to  Mr. 
Brown  and  let  him  put  them  to  Gaily.  So  Stone  became 
exasperated  at  my  action  and  wrote  Mr.  Fisher,  president 
of  the  company,  protesting  against  my  management  of  his 
case.  Fisher  wrote  him  to  stand  by  me  until  he  could  reach 
New  York,  and  it  was  to  meet  Stone  and  myself  and 
reconcile  us,  and  not  to  meet  Gaily,  that  he  came  to  New 
York.  And  he  was  mightily  surprised  and  gratified  when 
he  found  out  what  was  the  real  cause  of  the  trouble  be- 
tween Stone  and  myself.  Fisher  had  met  Stone  and  heard 
his  complaint  and  dismissed  him  for  the  time  being,  while 
he  interrogated  me  in  regard  to  the  status  of  affairs.  I 
showed  him  the  agreement  I had  drawn  up  for  Gaily  to 
sign.  Then  I showed  him  the  letter  signed  by  Gaily  con- 
ditionally agreeing  to  sign  the  instrument,  and  he  saw  that 
all  he  had  to  do  was  lo  decline  to  modify  the  agreement 
and  Gaily  would  be  compelled  to  sign  it,  as  it  was,  or 
violate  his  word  as  indicated  by  his  letter.  In  other  words, 
Fisher  saw  that  we  had  Gaily  and  the  best  thing  for  him 
to  do  was  to  notify  him  that  under  no  circumstances  would 
he  interfere.  If  Gaily  and  I could  get  together,  well  and 
good.  If  not.  Gaily  might  paddle  his  own  canoe  and  we 
would  do  the  same.  When  Gaily  finally  arrived  at  the 
hotel  he  had  drawn  up  another  agreement  which  he  wished 

58 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


Fisher  to  read,  but  Fisher  told  him  that  if  the  Munroe 
Company  had  settled  upon  any  one  policy  more  than  an- 
other,  it  was  the  determination  never  again  to  sign  any 
agreement  drawn  up  by  Merritt  Gaily.  And  without  any 
further  comment  Mr.  Fisher  and  I started  for  the  train. 
Gaily  followed.  He  pleaded  and  argued  and  wept,  by  turns, 
as  we  walked  toward  the  station.  He  wanted  Fisher  to 
remain  and  discuss  the  terms  of  the  agreement  with  him, 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  Fisher  got  on  board  and  left  Gaily 
and  myself  to  fight  it  out.  Gaily  proposed  to  return  to  the 
Murray  Hill  Hotel,  while  I refused,  except  for  one  pur- 
pose only — namely,  to  enable  him  to  sign  the  agreement. 
Again  he  pleaded  for  some  additional  concessions,  but  I 
was  obdurate.  I knew  he  would  sign  it  as  it  was,  and  if  he 
didn't  sign  it  that  night  he  would  sign  it  before  he  got  on 
the  stand  next  morning.  So  I was  not  worrying  or  anxious 
about  the  result. 

Finally  he  agreed  to  go  with  me  to  the  hotel  and  sign 
the  document.  Being  seated,  I called  for  pen  and  ink; 
then  I handed  him  the  agreement,  so  he  could  look  it  over 
before  signing  it.  After  reading  it  over,  he  shook  his  head 
dolefully  and  seemed  to  hesitate.  So  I took  up  the  pen, 
dipped  it  in  the  ink  and  handed  it  to  him.  But  exactly  two 
hours  had  elapsed  from  the  time  we  entered  the  hotel  be- 
fore he  signed  the  agreement,  although  I had  picked  up  my 
hat  several  times  and  threatened  to  leave  the  room  if  he 
didn't  sign. 


59 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


CHAPTER  VI. 

For  years  James  H.  Morgan  and  the  Mechanical  Or- 
guinette  Company  had  been  fighting  me  but  without 
success.  The  company  had  got  the  worst  of  it  every  time 
we  locked  horns  in  court.  Nor  was  it  necessary  that  we 
should  fight.  It  would  have  been  better  for  both  of  us 
to  have  consolidated,  or  compromised,  just  as  it  was  bet- 
ter for  the  Munroe  Company  and  myself  to  get  together. 
We  both  made  money  by  the  arrangement,  and  not  only 
made,  but  saved  money,  and  we  were  both  satisfied  with 
the  result.  I needed  them;  they  needed  me.  The  ar- 
rangement was  mutual  and  beneficial.  And  it  was  just  the 
same  in  regard  to  Gaily.  He  was  better  off,  made  more 
money  and  got  rid  of  litigation  and  had  his  time  to  de- 
vote to  experiment.  But  he  never  would  admit  it,  for 
Gaily  never  was  and  never  could  be  happy,  except  when 
he  was  unhappy.  Yet  Gaily  was  a bright  man,  and  a man 
of  genius.  His  mechanical  judgment  was  almost  infallible 
and  he  had  the  eye  of  an  artist.  Whatever  he  fashioned 
became  a thing  of  beauty  and  a joy  forever.  Further- 
more, in  his  money  matters  and  in  his  business  dealings, 
he  was  strictly  honorable  and  even  liberal,  and  from  the 
time  he  joined  the  Munroe  Company  he  was  always  loyal. 
6o 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


Vanity  was  the  rock  upon  which  he  split  with  the  Munroe 
Company.  The  result  was  that  he  did  not  fare  well.  Al- 
though living  today,  his  circumstances  are  not  very  satis- 
factory. 

But  to  return  to  James  H.  Morgan  and  the  Mechanical 
Orguiinette  Company.  Having  closed  my  deal  with  Gaily 
and  taken  him  into  the  Munroe  Company  camp  it  was 
incumbent  upon  me  to  meet  Mr.  Brown,  Morgan’s  counsel, 
and  apprise  him  of  what  had  transpired.  Mr.  Brown  was 
not  only  one  of  the  very  best  lawyers  in  New  York,  but 
he  was  a gentleman  and  a scholar,  and  although  he  had 
been  pitted  against  me  in  many  of  my  fights,  yet  I al- 
ways commanded  his  sympathy  and  respect,  and  he  did 
mine.  And  if  Mr.  Morgan  had  taken  Brown’s  advice  and 
been  less  rash  in  his  dealings  with  me,  most  of  the  litiga- 
tion could  have  been  avoided  and  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  saved.  Mr.  Brown  would  have  to  notify  Mor- 
gan that  John  McTammany  had  beaten  him  and  I rather 
think  he  dreaded  it.  But  now  that  the  deal  was  closed 
and  he  must  discuss  the  situation  with  Morgan,  he  wanted 
to  know  what  object  the  Munroe  Company  had  in  view, 
and  what  was  to  be  its  policy  toward  the  Mechanical  Or- 
guinette  Company.  I told  him  the  Munroe  Company  had 
formulated  no  policy  upon  the  subject,  as  they  did  not 
know  at  that  moment,  that  the  deal  had  actually  been 
consummated.  But  speaking  for  myself  I informed  him 
that  neither  I nor  the  Munroe  Company  had  any  designs 
or  grudge  against  Morgan  or  his  company.  That  all  the 
Munroe  Company  asked  was  a continuation  of  what  they 
had  all  along  enjoyed,  namely,  the  exclusive  manufacture 
of  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company’s  product.  Only 
on  less  harsh  and  onorous  terms.  This  Mr.  Brown  per- 
fectly understood. 


6i 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

Mr.  Brown  did  not  express,  or  commit  himself,  in  any 
way.  He  was  satisfied  that  the  Munroe  Company  had 
made  the  move  in  sheer  self-defense;  that  Gaily,  a dis- 
turbing factor  in  the  business,  had  been  brought  into  camp, 
although  unfortunately,  as  Mr.  Brown  viewed  it,  into  the 
wrong  camp.  Nevertheless  it  had  been  done  on  very  rea- 
sonable terms.  Mr.  Morgan  might  practically  still  domin- 
ate the  situation  and  all  would  be  well.  But  he  also  knew 
Morgan  and  he  knew  how  intensely  he  hated  me,  and  to 
recognize  me  or  affiliate  with  me  in  the  conduct  of  any 
business  was  out  of  the  question.  I was  always  willing 
to  recognize  Morgan  as  an  equal,  but  not  as  a superior. 
I was  willing  to  work  with  him,  but  that  did  not  suit 
Morgan.  Now  the  situation,  as  it  must  have  appeared  to 
Morgan,  at  the  time  was  this : The  Munroe  Company  con- 
trolled enough  patents  to  give  it  the  right  to  enter  the 
field  and  sell  direct  to  the  trade  in  competition  with  the 
Mechanical  Orguinette  Company  which  had  before  enjoyed 
a practical  monopoly;  that  they  had  the  finest  plant  and 
equipment  in  the  world,  and  last  but  not  least  they  had 
associated  with  them  McTammany,  Gaily,  Parker,  Stone, 
and  Ewell,  the  five  men  who  at  that  time  stood  at  the  very 
pinnacle  of  the  industry.  Furthermore,  the  Munroe  Com- 
pany in  entering  into  a deal  with  me,  had  compelled  the 
Mechanical  Orguinette  Company  to  indirectly  pay  me  a 
royalty  on  every  instrument  they  sold,  and  caused  them 
to  recognize  me  as  the  pioneer  inventor  of  the  player 
mechanism;  that  every  instrument  must  bear  the  name  of 
McTammany,  and  that  name  to  Morgan  was  like  a red 
rag  to  a bull.  In  fact  it  was  a case  of  too  much  McTam- 
many so  far  as  Morgan  was  concerned. 

But  it  did  not  fall  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  Brown  to  break  the 
disagreeable  news  of  the  Munroe-Gally  deal  to  Morgan. 
62 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


In  some  way  he  heard  of  it  before  Brown  did,  and  imme- 
diately took  a Broadway  car  for  Brown’s  office.  I had  got 
through  with  my  interview  with  Brown  and  gone  down 
stairs  and  was  standing  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street 
waiting  for  a car  to  take  me  up  town,  when  I saw  Morgan 
jump  off  a downtown  car  opposite  Brown’s  door,  but  in 
stepping  off  he  did  so  in  front  of  a team  and  got  knocked 
down  and  the  team  went  clear  over  him.  But  he  picked  him- 
self up  in  the  rear  of  the  wagon  and  was  not  seriously 
hurt.  I had  run  across  the  street,  when  I had  seen  what 
had  happened,  to  render  him  assistance  if  necessary,  being 
confident  he  must  have  suffered  injury,  but  when  our  eyes 
met,  I never  saw  a madder  man.  James  H.  Morgan  had 
brains,  and  he  had  ability,  and  in  many  ways  was  a very 
able  man,  although  he  was  entirely  lacking  in  tact  and  dis- 
cretion. Furthermore,  he  never  placed  implicit  confidence 
in  anyone,  not  even  his  best  friend.  First  it  was  McTam- 
many  he  antagonized,  then  Gaily,  then  Needham,  then  Ham- 
mond, then  the  Munroe  Company,  and  I could  name  many 
others.  And  there  is  not  a thing  that  he  ever  accomplished 
by  fighting  that  could  not  have  been  brought  about  by 
peaceful  and  honorable  methods,  and  have  realized  his  ob- 
ject much  quicker  and  at  one  tenth  the  cost  to  his  company. 

I had  written  Mr.  Fisher  of  my  success  and  notified  him 
that  Stone  and  I would  take  a late  train  that  night 
leaving  New  York  for  home.  We  had  taken  a 
sleeper,  but  we  might  better  have  taken  a coach, 
for  we  did  not  sleep  and  only  annoyed  the  others 
by  keeping  them  awake  by  our  boisterous  behavior, 
for  to  tell  the  truth  we  felt  pretty  good  over  the  result,  for 
when  we  went  on  to  New  York,  we  felt  we  knew  what 
Morgan’s  plans  were  and  the  part  we  were  expected  to  play 
and  we  had  no  heart  in  the  program.  We  knew  that  we 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

should  win  out  over  Gaily  if  we  had  to  go  to  the  Supreme 
Court  to  do  it.  We  also  knew  that  the  moment  that  Mor- 
gan gobbled  up  Gaily,  we  were  in  for  the  fight  of  our  lives, 
and  now  that  the  situation  had  been  reversed,  Stone  saw 
that  we  had  the  whip  hand  over  Morgan  and  was  corre- 
spondingly elated. 

The  Munroe  Company  had  expended  a large  sum  of 
money  in  the  leasing  of  buildings  and  purchase  of  special 
machinery  to  manufacture  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  line 
of  goods  and  had  a well  trained  force  in  their  employ  who 
understood  the  work.  The  orders  of  the  Mechanical  Or- 
guinette Company  ran  into  several  thousands  instruments 
per  month.  But  the  Munroe  Company  had  no  assurance 
that  the  work  would  not  be  taken  from  them  at  any  time. 
Morgan  got  peeved,  as  he  often  did,  and  particularly  when, 
in  spite  of  him,  they  terminated  the  litigation  and  formed 
an  alliance  with  me. 

Now  it  was  different.  They  had  the  advantage  over 
Morgan.  His  sway  over  them  was  broken,  and  while  they 
did  not  chuckle  over  their  good  luck,  yet  they  consoled 
themselves  in  being  independent  of  him.  Had  he  been  an 
ordinary  business  man,  confronted  with  such  a condition  of 
affairs,  Morgan  would  have  taken  the  next  train  to  Worces- 
ter and  planned  to  avoid  any  further  friction.  But  Mor- 
gan was  not  an  ordinary  man,  so  he  did  not  go  to  Worces- 
ter. Friction  had  already  developed  by  putting  the  Mc- 
Tammany  label  on  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company’s 
goods,  and  the  payment  to  me  of  a royalty  on  the  same, 
and  third  the  Munroe  Company  refused  to  accept  any  kind 
of  paper  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company  saw  fit  to 
forward  in  payment  of  goods,  or  to  renew  paper  to  the 
extent  they  formerly  had  done. 

But,  as  I said,  Morgan  was  not  an  ordinary  man,  and 


64 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 
consequently  he  did  not  come  to  Worcester  and  no  under- 
standing was  reached.  Therefore  the  Munroe  Company 
began  to  clear  the  deck  for  action;  that  is,  they  concluded 
to  take  the  field  and  sell  in  competition  with  the  Mechanical 
Orguinette  Company,  and  I knew  they  would  force  Mor- 
gan's hand  the  moment  they  did  that. 

Up  to  this  time,  if  it  became  necessary  for  the  Mechan- 
ical Orguinette  Company  to  confer  in  person  with  the 
Munroe  Company,  William  B.  Tremaine  was  the  man 
deputized  to  do  the  work.  Now  we  had  a visit  from  Mr. 
Morgan  himself. 

But  the  Munroe  Company  had  ceased  to  fear  Mr.  Mor- 
gan. The  company  had  not  courted  his  disfavor;  neither 
would  they  shrink  from  it.  Mr.  Morgan  returned  to  New 
York  in  a rage,  so  he  accomplished  nothing  by  his  visit. 

But  if,  prior  to  Morgan’s  visit,  the  Munroe  Company  had 
had  any  doubts  regarding  their  future  course,  all  such 
doubts  were  swept  away  as  a result  of  Morgan’s  visit,  and 
henceforth  it  made  up  its  mind  to  paddle  its  own  canoe 
and  it  did. 

When  I closed  my  last  agreement  with  the  Munroe  Com- 
pany it  was  with  the  understanding  that  I take  charge  of 
the  experimental  department.  Now  that  the  company  had 
broken  with  the  Mechanical  Orguinette  Company  it  needed 
a practical  man  to  dispose  of  its  products.  And  there  was 
no  one  in  sight  but  myself.  I did  not  want  the  job.  I was 
more  than  satisfied  with  the  position  I held  at  the  head  of 
the  experimental  department.  But  some  one  had  to  take  it 
and  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  do  so.  Therefore,  another  agree- 
ment was  drawn  up  between  us,  whereby  I was  to  act  as 
general  sales  agent  while  William  D.  Parker  was  to  take 
charge  of  the  experimental  department,  subject  to  my  di- 
rection, and  I was  to  have  a license  under  every  patent  ap- 

65 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

plied  for  by  Parker,  or  acquired  by  the  Munroe  Company. 
Under  this  arrangement  I took  the  road,  travelled  all  over 
the  United  States,  Canada  and  Europe,  establishing  agen- 
cies in  all  parts  of  the  world  and  building  up  a large  and 
profitable  business. 


66 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


CHAPTER  VII. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Morgan  visited  Mr.  Brown  to  discuss 
the  deal  between  Munroe  and  Gaily,  I did  not  know 
just  what  transpired  between  them,  but  I know  now.  I 
got  my  information  from  none  other  than  Mr.  Morgan 
himself,  and  it  was  this : Mr.  Brown  told  him  that  there 
were  but  two  courses  open  for  him  to  pursue ; either  com- 
promise with  the  Munroe  Company  or  buy  out  the  com- 
pany. The  first  course  he  positively  and  emphatically 
declined  to  follow  and  the  latter  course  he  was  unable  to 
follow  for  the  reason  that  he  could  not  command  the 
money.  So  matters  were  allowed  to  drag  on,  month  after 
month,  while  Mr.  Morgan  was  trying  to  raise  the  neces- 
sary funds  to  get  control  of  the  Munroe  Company.  The 
latter  company  was  going  on,  conquering  and  to  conquer, 
and  I was  having  no  difficulty  in  disposing  of  the  output. 
And  it  was  fast  outstripping  the  Mechanical  Orguinette 
Company  when  something  happened  that  brought  the  Mun- 
roe Company  up  with  a short  turn,  staggered  it  and  gave 
it  a setback  from  which  it  never  fully  recovered. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  pneumatic  action  we  had  no 
special  rubber  tubing  or  rubber  cloth  designed  for  pneu- 
matic work,  and  we  were  all  the  time  experimenting  with 

67 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

various  substances  with  which  to  make  the  primary  pneu- 
matics and  also  rubber  connections.  We  were  using  split 
sheepskin,  which  seemed  to  come  nearest  of  anything  in  the 
market  to  what  was  wanted  and  gave  the  best  satisfaction 
of  the  various  things  that  from  time  to  time  had  been 
tried.  But  sheepskin  was  porous  and  unsatisfactory. 
Finally  an  instrument  was  constructed,  using  pure  rubber 
cloth  for  the  primary  pneumatics.  This  was  airtight,  very 
elastic  and  flexible.  And  the  rapidity  of  execution  in  that 
action  excelled  anything  of  which  I had  previously  seen 
or  heard.  I was  out  on  the  road  when  the  instrument  had 
been  completed  and  homeward  bound  by  way  of  Boston 
to  attend  a meeting  of  the  managers  of  Gately  & Co.,  of 
that  city,  who  did  an  installment  business,  with  branch 
houses  in  every  large  city  in  the  land. 

The  instrument  was  delivered  to  me  at  Boston  and  thor- 
oughly tested,  and  of  all  the  pneumatics  I had  ever  tried 
out  that  was  easily  the  best,  and  I made  up  my  mind  that 
if  the  Gatelys  wished  to  control  that  particular  instrument 
as  an  installment  proposition  they  must  agree  to  order  at 
least  10,000  and  put  up  the  cash  in  advance,  not  that  they 
were  not  good,  but  the  Munroe  Company  needed  the  money. 
The  Gately  managers  were  well  pleased  with  the  test  of  the 
instrument  but  balked  at  an  order  of  10,000.  They  agreed 
to  take  5,000.  Then  began  one  of  those  seesaw  games 
known  to  road  men  as  a game  that  tries  a fellow’s  soul.  I 
was  bent  on  boosting  up  the  order.  They  were  determined 
to  keep  it  down,  but  in  the  end  we  compromised  on  an 
order  for  8,500  and  the  company  gave  notes  in  advance  for 
the  full  amount.  The  same  instrument,  slightly  changed 
in  appearance,  I sold  to  the  regular  trade. 

I had  just  returned  from  a long  trip  and  had  not  seen 
my  family,  but  I was  so  infatuated  with  my  new  sample 
68 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


that  I was  anxious  to  put  it  up  to  the  trade  at  once, 
confident  I could  get  large  orders.  So  I did  not  go 
home;  didn^t  see  my  family.  I had  gone  West  and  reached 
St.  Paul  on  my  way,  where  I took  a large  order,  then  I 
had  stopped.  I had  secured  large  orders  in  every  inter- 
vening city.  A number  of  the  orders  were  each  for  500 
instruments;  in  fact,  the  firm  was  overwhelmed  with  or- 
ders, quite  a number  of  which  never  were  filled.  I got  a 
letter  requesting  me  to  take  no  more  business,  but  to  return 
home.  I had  never  taken  the  instrument  apart  to  deter- 
mine the  reason  for  its  superiority  over  our  previous  prod- 
uct, for  I had  been  assured  that  it  did  not  differ  essentially 
from  our  early  instruments  except  in  some  slight  regula- 
tion adjustment  and  relation  of  parts.  So  I did  not  suspect 
that  the  instrument  was  defective.  And  even  if  I had  ex- 
amined it  I might  not  have  discovered  that  it  was  bad.  If 
I had,  I would  not  have  sold  it.  The  firm  frequently  got 
up  styles  that  I did  not  like ; those  I would  not  sell.  On 
the  other  hand  I would  boost  and  push  an  instrument  they 
did  not  like.  This  may  have  been  prejudice  pure  and  sim- 
ple on  both  sides,  but  the  trade  knew  me;  knew  I would 
not  handle  an  instrument  I did  not  have  faith  in.  So  when 
I went  before  the  jobbers  with  a new  instrument  I always 
succeeded  in  getting  generous  orders.  The  Gately  order 
and  several  others  had  been  filled;  some  of  the  notes  had 
become  due  and  were  paid,  when  we  began  to  get  com- 
plaints about  the  instrument,  and  I at  once  took  the  road  on 
a tour  of  inspection.  But  it  did  not  take  me  long  to  dis- 
cover the  cause  of  the  complaints.  The  pure  rubber  of 
which  the  pneumatics  were  made  had  become  oxidized, 
hardened  and  brittle  and  its  goodness  more  or  less  im- 
paired, resulting  in  the  unsatisfactory  operation  of  the 
pneumatic  system.  This  discovery  was  a crushing  blow  to 

69 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


me  and  a terrible  setback  to  the  Munroe  Company,  a stroke 
from  which  it  was  unable  to  recover. 

When  the  metallic  action,  introduced  to  the  trade  by  the 
Chickering  Piano  Company,  in  1876,  proved  defective,  it 
tried  various  plans  to  remedy  the  defect,  but  without  success. 
And  when  George  Woods  introduced  his  manila  paper  as 
a substitute  to  displace  rubber  cloth,  in  organ  bellows,  and 
sent  out  several  thousand  of  them  to  the  trade,  he  also 
tried  to  patch  the  instruments  up  by  sending  men  out  to 
try  and  fix  them,  but  without  success.  The  Chickering 
pianos  and  the  Woods  organs  went  under  the  boilers  in  the 
end,  and  that  was  where  the  Munroe  pneumatics  also  went. 
They  were  actually  more  than  a total  loss. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Morgan  had  begun  to  realize  that  the 
Munroe  Company  was  making  good  headway  and  had  been 
working  hard  in  every  way  to  checkmate  the  company. 
And  he  was  not  long  in  finding  out  the  disaster  that  had 
overtaken  the  Munroe  Company.  Now,  what  he  had  in 
mind  was  to  get  control  of  a majority  of  the  stock  of  the 
Munroe  Company.  But  nobody  seemed  to  care  about  sell- 
ing out  their  interests,  at  least,  not  at  the  price  Mr.  Morgan 
wanted  to  pay.  But  now  that  the  company  had  met  with 
misfortune,  it  was  different.  There  were  no  more  divi- 
dends in  sight,  so  Mr.  Morgan  got  busy.  He  had  inter- 
viewed numerous  individuals  with  a view  to  raising  the 
necessary  funds  to  buy  out  the  Munroe  Company,  and 
among  the  number  was  Horace  Wilcox,  of  the  Meriden 
Britannia  Company,  a man  reputed  to  be  a multi-millionaire. 
Mr.  Wilcox  recognized  the  merits  of  the  Munroe  goods 
and  was  willing  to  go  into  the  scheme  with  Mr.  Morgan, 
if  the  stock  of  the  Munroe  Company  could  be  purchased 
at  a given  price.  The  business  could  be  moved  to  Meriden, 
and  the  Wilcox  & White  Company  could  have  a license 


70 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


under  the  Munroe  Company  patents.  That  was  more  than 
Mr.  Morgan  was  ready  to  concede.  What  he  was  figuring 
on  was  to  get  it  all  under  his  control;  the  whole  plant  to 
be  located  in  New  Jersey.  But  there  was  nothing  in  Mr. 
Morgan’s  plan  that  commended  itself  to  Horace  Wilcox. 
So  the  deal  hung  fire  until  Mr.  Morgan  began  to  realize 
that  he  was  likely  to  lose  control  of  the  business  entirely, 
unless  he  made  a move.  So  it  was  Hobson’s  choice  with 
him,  the  Wilcox  plan  or  nothing.  He  reluctantly  accepted 
the  Wilcox  proposition.  Then  the  money  was  forthcoming, 
a majority  of  the  Munroe  Company  stock  was  bought,  and 
the  business  moved  to  Meriden. 

And  again  I found  myself  outside  the  breastworks,  ditto 
Gaily,  Parker  and  Stone.  But  I had  not  received  my 
license  under  the  Parker  patents  as  the  agreement  called 
for.  If  I had  I could  have  immediately  gone  to  work  and 
reproduced  the  whole  line  of  the  Munroe  Company.  I 
promptly  entered  suit  in  the  United  States  Court  to  com- 
pel a fulfillment  of  the  agreement,  but  as  usual  the  law 
and  the  lawyers’  delay  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  opposition, 
and  the  case  was  prolonged  for  years  and  finally  I was 
beaten  on  technicalities,  and  James  H.  Morgan  beat  John 
McTammany  in  1888,  after  twelve  years’  stress  and  strug- 
gle between  u^,  during  which  I had  invariably  defeated 
him.  But  there  is  one  thing  to  be  taken  into  consideration 
in  this  connection,  and  it  is  this:  In  all  my  fighting  I had 
stood  up  singly  and  alone. 

It  was  out  of  the  frying  pan  into  the  fire  with  Mr.  Mor- 
gan. He  had  got  rid  of  John  McTammany,  but  henceforth 
the  Wilcox  & White  Company  were  the  thorn  in  the  flesh 
of  Morgan.  The  latter  company  had  effected  an  arrange- 
ment with  William  D.  Parker,  the  man  to  whom  I had 
taught  the  mysteries  of  the  pneumatic  system,  and  he  proved 

71 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

to  be  an  apt  pupil.  The  pneumatic  system  was  fully  devel- 
oped in  its  application  both  to  pianos  and  organs  before  he 
left  Worcester  for  Meriden  in  1888,  to  take  charge  of  the 
experimental  department  of  the  Wilcox  & White  Organ 
Company,  and  the  future  of  automatic  musical  instruments 
operatable  by  perforated  sheets  was  no  longer  in  dispute. 
The  battle  had  been  fought  and  the  victory  won,  years  be- 
fore, and  it  was  now  only  a question  of  supplying  the  de- 
mand and  the  further  development  and  improvement  of  the 
system.  At  the  time  the  transfer  was  made,  the  demands 
upon  the  Munroe  Organ  Reed  Company  was  for  50,000 
instruments  per  year. 

Upon  Parker's  arrival  in  Meriden,  the  Wilcox  & White 
Company  proceeded  to  manufacture  a line  of  players,  reed  in- 
struments at  first,  and  pianos  later.  All  instruments  were  reed 
instruments  in  the  beginning.  The  Aeolian,  McTarnmany, 
Gaily,  Melville  Clark  and  others,  without  a single  excep- 
tion, developed  their  pneumatic  systems  in  connection  with 
the  organ,  subsequently  applying  it  to  pianos.  In  the  mean- 
time Mr.  Morgan  had  got  into  litigation  with  several  other 
parties,  including  Hammond  of  Worcester,  and  Needham 
of  New  York.  He  finally  found  himself  altogether  outside 
the  Aeolian  Company,  and  immediately  started  to  build  up 
an  opposition  firm.  I got  a letter  from  a friend  in  New 
York,  requesting  me  to  visit  that  city,  and  when  I arrived 
I was  surprised  to  meet  Mr.  Morgan.  I was  aware  that  he  and 
the  Aeolian  Company  had  parted  company  and  I was  not 
surprised  to  learn  that  he  was  trying  to  form  an  opposition 
concern.  He  had  got  hold  of  some  parties  who  had  de- 
veloped a player,  substituting  an  electric  for  the  standard 
pneumatic  action  and  they  had  it  on  exhibition  down  on 
Wall  Street,  where  he  was  trying  to  get  capital  to  manu- 
facture the  invention.  But  Mr.  Morgan  had  no  practical 


72 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


knowledge  of  the  business,  his  occupation  being  that  of 
an  exporter  of  Scotch  and  other  granite.  Of  course  he 
knew  my  feelings  toward  him  and  immediately  set  to  work 
to  convince  me  that  all  the  litigation  and  controversy  in 
which  we  had  been  involved  from  1878  until  I had  been 
frozen  out  of  the  Munroe  Organ  Reed  Company  had  been 
inspired  by  others.  But  I knew  better,  and  while  I did  not 
tell  him  so,  I made  np  my  mind  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  him.  I did  not  regret  the  interview,  or  rather  the 
series  of  interviews,  for  we  spent  several  days  together, 
during  which  time  I learned  much  regarding  the  true  in- 
wardness of  affairs,  things  that  had  greatly  puzzled  me 
and  that  I had  not  previously  understood,  but  which  were 
then  made  plain  to  me.  Mr.  Morgan  came  out  of  it  all  with 
money;  I did  not.  Consequently  I am  writing  this  final 
chapter  of  player  history  in  the  military  hospital  at  Noroton 
Heights,  Conn.,  for  so  the  fates  have  decreed.  Yet  I am 
neither  discouraged  nor  unhappy. 


73 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IT  is  just  three  months  (date  of  writing,  June,  1913) 
since  I was  carried  out  of  the  Y.  M C.  A.  at  Stamford 
unconscious  and  taken  to  the  hospital,  where  I lay  hovering 
between  life  and  death  and  there  came  a time  when,  as  I 
lay  on  my  cot,  I felt  that  my  days  were  numbered  and  my 
end  was  near.  At  such  a time  the  mind  is  prone  to  look 
backward,  and  as  I reviewed  my  past  I had  my  regrets;  I 
had  been  guilty  of  the  crimes  of  omission  and  commission. 
I had  done  the  things  I should  not  have  done  and  left  un- 
done those  things  which  I ought  to  have  done.  I regretted 
that  I had  spent  so  much  time  in  fighting  in  the  courts, 
when  I should  have  been  engaged  in  inventing  that  which 
I had  been  foreordained  to  do.  But  I had  not  courted  this 
litigation;  in  every  instance  it  was  forced  upon  me.  Fur- 
thermore, I was  sorry  that  I was  dying  with  inventions  on 
my  brain  that  would  have  blessed  mankind  could  I have 
lived  to  develop  them.  But  never  once  during  the  three 
months  referred  to  did  I for  a single  moment  regret  that 
I had  not  devoted  my  life  to  money  making. 

On  one  of  my  trips  to  Europe,  when  I was  introducing 
the  player,  I met  an  American  piano  manufacturer  at  a rail- 
road station  in  Germany.  We  adjourned  to  a restaurant, 

74 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


while  waiting  for  our  trains.  In  the  course  of  our  conver- 
sation I said  to  him : “I  suppose  you  will  visit  Rome  and 
Venice?”  and  I suggested  several  other  interesting  spots 
for  him  to  see. 

*‘Oh,  I don’t  know,”  was  his  reply,  “but  of  one  thing  I 
am  certain,  and  that  is  that  I shall  visit  Padua.” 

“Padua?”  I repeated.  “I  have  never  heard  of  that  place 
as  having  any  special  attraction  for  tourists.” 

“No,”  he  replied,  “but  nevertheless  one  of  the  great  men 
of  the  earth  is  buried  there.” 

“I  did  not  wish  to  expose  my  ignorance  by  asking  who 
he  had  in  mind.  So  I asked  him  if  the  gentleman  whose 
mouldering  dust  was  on  deposit  as  Padua  was  greater  than 
the  Caesars.  And  to  my  amazement  he  promptly  replied: 
“In  my  estimation  he  was.” 

That  remark  caused  me  to  sit  up  and  take  notice,  if  the 
reader  will  pardon  the  use  of  a bit  of  modern  slang, 
and  imagine  my  surprise  when  he  continued : “I  am  a piano 
manufacturer,  and  a practical  one  at  that,  as  you  know, 
and  even  as  an  apprentice,  learning  the  trade,  I had  become 
saturated  with  the  subject  and  read,  with  avidity,  every- 
thing that  came  in  my  way,  bearing  on  the  problem.  As  a 
result  I learned  that  the  piano  was  invented  by  a man 
named  Bartholomey  Cristofori,  a citizen  of  Padua.  That 
a plaque  to  his  memory  adorned  the  walls  of  the  church 
in  which  he  worshipped  when  alive.  And  I am  on  my  way 
to  visit  his  grave  to  place  thereon  an  American  wreath  and 
visit  the  ancient  church  and  read  the  tribute  paid  to  him  by 
his  fellow  countrymen.” 

At  that  time  I was  so  much  alive,  so  full  of  vim  and 
push  and  energy  that  I had  never  thought  of  death,  renown, 
churches,  plaques,  or  anything  else  in  that  line.  I was  so 
much  engrossed  in  developing  and  building  up  the  player 


75 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

industry  that  I had  no  time  to  think  of  anything  else,  and 
feeling  as  I did,  I had  a sort  of  contempt  for  any  man  who 
could  waste  good  time  and  better  money  carrying  American 
wreaths  to  Padua.  I was  doing  a good  business  making 
money  hand  over  fist  and  having  a bully  good  time,  so 
when  I meet  one  of  these  latter  day  saints  who  are  doing 
big  business  and  making  money  and  they  go  out  of  their 
way  to  snub  and  insult  me  because  I am  not  making  money 
it  doesn’t  make  me  mad.  Those  men  have  travelled  part  of 
the  way,  are  ascending  the  eastern  declivity  of  life.  Some 
day,  like  me,  they  will  be  descending  the  western  side. 
Then  it  will  be  different.  My  friend,  the  piano  manufac- 
turer, was  going  down  hill,  he  was  looking  forward  to  the 
future.  Train  time  had  arrived,  and  he  took  his  departure 
to  Padua  while  I took  another  train  for  the  Netherlands 
on  my  way  to  Paris  and  London.  A few  years  later  I met 
my  friend,  the  piano  manufacturer,  in  Boston,  and  retired 
with  him  to  a restaurant  on  Battle  street  where  we  spent 
the  evening.  Our  conversation  began  where  it  left  off  in 
Germany.  I opened  the  interview  by  observing  that  the 
last  time  I saw  him  was  at  a station  near  the  North  Sea, 
and  he  was  then  on  his  way  to  Padua. 

‘‘Yes,  I visited  Padua,”  he  replied,  “and  I stood  by  the 
tomb  of  the  great  craftsman  and  reverently  laid  my  modest 
tribute  of  respect  upon  his  grave.  I also  entered  the  an- 
cient church  in  which  he  was  said  to  have  worshipped  and 
beheld  the  plaque  placed  there  to  his  memory  and  had  the 
superscription  interpreted.  I remained  in  the  city  a week, 
and  visited  the  tomb  each  day,  and  now,  sir,  I am  71  years 
of  age;  I no  longer  take  an  active  part  in  the  piano  busi- 
ness. I have  a competence.  All  my  children  are  married 
and  doing  well,  but  I tell  you,  and  in  all  sincerity,  that  I 
would  give  all  I am  worth  tonight  to  know  that  when  I am 
76 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


dead  and  gone  I would  be  reverenced  and  renowned  like 
the  grand  old  master  of  the  piano  industry/’ 

This  man  had  money;  he  had  standing  in  the  community 
and  commanded  the  respect,  homage  and  confidence  of  his 
friends  and  associates.  But  he  was  not  happy.  He  was 
facing  the  future  with  a nameless  dread.  He  did  not  fear 
death,  but  to  live  a commonplace  life,  die  a commonplace 
death  and  be  buried  in  a commonplace  grave  unwept,  un- 
honored and  unsung,  seemed  to  inspire  him  with  the  deep- 
est horror.  The  desire  to  live,  after  we  are  gone,  to  per- 
petuate our  memory  in  some  way  is  not  only  natural  but 
universal,  a desire  implanted  in  the  very  soul  of  man.  So 
this  man,  wealthy  and  worthy,  journeyed  across  the  seas, 
went  from  country  to  country,  from  State  to  State  and 
city  to  city,  passing  innumerable  statues  of  the  great  and 
renowned,  memorials  of  kings,  emperors,  princes  and  po- 
tentates, bankers  who  died  owning  fabulous  wealth,  famous 
soldiers  and  sailors  of  world  wide  reputation,  but  he  passed 
them  all  without  a thought,  until  he  reached  the  obscure 
and  commonplace  city  of  Padua,  and  the  grave  of  the  fa- 
mous artisan,  a man  clothed  in  homespun,  who  wore  a 
leather  apron  and  wooden  shoes,  who  worked  at  a bench 
and  ate  his  black  bread  and  bologna  while  he  devoted  his 
life  to  fashioning  that  king  of  musical  instruments  that 
holds  the  post  of  honor  in  the  palace  and  the  hut,  that 
monument  in  mechanism  which  shall  ever  perpetuate  his 
memory  and  the  thing  that  comes  nearest  the  heart  of 
humanity,  the  immortal  piano.  I am  older  today  than  I 
was  when  I met  my  friend,  the  piano  manufacturer,  in  the 
quaint  old  German  city  by  the  North  Sea.  And  I have 
met  with  numerous  reverses  and  misfortunes  and  have  re- 
peatedly stood  in  the  very  shadow  of  death.  But  if  the 
worst  had  come  to  worst  and  the  slender  tie  that  bound 


77 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


me  to  earth  had  been  severed  while  I lay  upon  my  hospital 
cot  at  Noroton  I should  have  died  happy.  When  I had 
recovered  consciousness  at  the  hospital  I noticed  a stack 
of  mail  upon  a stand  beside  my  cot.  But  my  mind  and 
body  was  too  weak  to  even  care  for  it.  But  as  the  days 
passed  by  and  my  strength  returned  I had  a curiosity  to 
know  who  could  have  sent  it.  I asked  the  nurse  to  open 
the  letters  and  read  them  to  me.  She  complied,  and  I heard 
them  read  one  after  another.  They  were  letters  of  sym- 
pathy and  good  cheer  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 

They  read  as  follows: 

FROM  THE  COMMON  PEOPLE. 

“God  bless  you  and  restore  you  to  health  for  many  years  to  come 
it  my  prayer.” — (Signed)  O.  P.  Smith,  Middlefield,  Ohio. 


“I  hope  you  may  fully  recover.  You  can  at  least  truthfully  say 
that  you  have  lived  for  some  purpose.” — (Signed)  A.  W.  Click, 
Kennewich,  Wash. 


“I  have  just  learned  of  your  misfortune;  I am  sorry  you  have 
been  stricken  down  and  that  we  have  lost  you.” — Russell  Park, 
Spencer,  Mass. 


“I  hate  so  much  to  see  so  intellectual  a man  as  you  afflicted.  May 
the  dear  Lord  spare  you  for  the  benefit  of  the  universe  as  you  have 
done  wonderfully  well  up  to  date.” — (Signed)  Mrs.  E.  W.  Kendall, 
Cold  Harbor,  Va. 

Aside  from  these  private  communications,  the  follow- 
ing extracts  in  letters  of  sympathy  were  received  from 
widely  known  men  and  prominent  editors  of  daily  and 
weekly  periodicals  of  the  country: 

“My  Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  I was  surprised  and  pained  to  learn 
of  your  recent  illness.  You  never  said  a word  about  it  in  your 
former  letter.”-— (Signed)  Joe  Mitchell  Chappie,  editor  National 
Magazine,  Boston,  Mass. 


“I  am  overcome  with  sorrow  to  learn  through  our  press  clippings 
of  your  misfortune.  Believe  me,  my  heart  goes  out  in  deepest 
sympathy  and  longing  to  do  something  to  make  your  affliction  more 
bearable.” — (Signed)  John  McElroy,  editor  National  Tribune,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

78 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

‘*My  Dear  Friend:  Your  letter  stating  that  after  you  left  my 

office  the  other  day  you  were  taken  suddenly  ill  and  awoke  to  find 
yourself  in  the  hospital,  received.  To  say  I am  grieved  and  shocked 
is  but  as  the  heart  speaketh.  You  have  my  sympathy  and  earnest 
hopes  for  your  recovery.  I will  come  to  see  you  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible.’”—(Signed)  William  Mills  Butler,  editor  Sunnyside,  New  York. 


“My  Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  Your  illness  is  a source  of  regret 
to  all  your  friends,  but  we  feel  confident  that  your  courage  and  the 
spirit  of  hope  will  rise  superior  to  these  bodily  ills,  and  that  you 
shall  have  many  years  more  of  usefulness.” — Robert  Whittaker, 
editor  Daily  Advocate,  Stamford,  Conn. 


Mr.  John  McTammany,  Stamford,  Conn.: 

My  Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  I have  just  learned  with  sincere 

regret  that  you  are  ill,  but  from  what  I know  of  you  I think  that 
it  will  take  more  than  that  to  down  you.  There  is  too  little  left  of 
the  “old  guard”  to  spare  so  shining  a light. 

Sincerely  your  friend, 

Chas.  H.  Parsons, 

Ex-Pres.  Natl.  Association  of  Piano  Mfrs.  of  America. 


Mr.  John  McTammany,  Noroton  Heights,  Conn.: 

Dear  Sir:  I am  very  sorry  indeed  to  learn  that  you  are  ill. 

You  have  been  under  great  strain  for  a long  time  and  have  car- 
ried on  a very  long  fight  and  it  is  no  wonder  your  nerves  have 
gone  back  on  you. 

Wishing  you  the  very  speediest  kind  of  recovery,  I am. 

Yours  very  truly, 

W.  I.  Funk, 

Funk  & Wagnalls  Pub.  Co.,  New  York. 


Be  of  good  cheer,  my  brave  boy,  for  I know  you  have  the  cour- 
age to  pull  through.  Ex-Gov.  John  P.  St.  John, 

Olathe,  Kansas. 


There  is  something  peculiar  about  Comrade  McTammany’s  case. 
The  injuries  received  in  line  of  duty  he  accepted  as  one  of  the 
results  of  war,  but  he  neither  whined  nor  complained  but  accepted 
his  fate  and  like  a true  soldier  set  resolutely  to  work  handicapped 
as  he  was  to  renew  the  struggle  for  existence  without  fear  and 
without  favor  and  it  is  because  of  the  foregoing  facts  that  Mc- 
Tammany’s case  appeals  mightily  not  only  to  his  old  comrades  in 
arms,  but  to  every  man  who  believes  in  justice  and  a square  deal. 

Very  respectfully, 

D.  E,  Sickles, 

Major-Gen.  U.  S.  Army  retired. 

23  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York. 


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HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

Boston,  Mass.,  Feb.  25,  1913. 

Mr.  John  McTammany, 

Soldiers’  Hospital,  Noroton  Heights,  Conn. : 

Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  I am  much  concerned  by  the  informa- 

tion as  to  the  statq  of  your  health  contained  in  your  letter  without 
date  received  yesterday.  I sincerely  hope  that  you  are  mistaken  in 
believing  that  you  will  not  get  out  again.  This  statement  of  your 
belief  comes  as  a shock  to  us  all,  as  your  cheerful  temperament 
and  apparently  good  health  lias  always  given  us  the  impression  that 
you  would  last  as  long  as  any  of  us.  I shall  await  with  deep 
interest  further  information  about  your  condition  and  hope  to  re- 
ceive encouraging  news.  Charles  F.  Brown, 

Wright,  Brown,  Quinby  & May, 
Patents  and  Patent  Causes,  Boston,  Mass. 


March  7,  1913. 

My  Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  I am  in  receipt  of  your  favor  of 

the  6th,  and  assure  you  that  I was  pleased  to  learn  that  you  are 
feeling  better  and  hope  that  you  will  soon  be  yourself  again.  Our 
“mutual  friend,”  Mr.  Waterbury,  informed  me  of  your  illness  and 
both  my  wife  and  myself  were  very  sorry;  and  it  gives  us  both 
much  pleasure  to  know  that  the  worst  is  past,  and  you  are  going  to 
“pull  hrough.”  Frank  Scribner, 

Importer  Musical  Instruments. 


Meriden,  Conn.,  March  5th,  1913. 
Mr.  John  McTammcmy,  Noroton  Heights,  Conn.: 

Friend  John  : I was  greatly  shocked  to  note  the  account  of  your 

recent  misfortune  and  I sincerely  hope  you  will  have  a speedy 
recovery. 

Your  past  mode  of  living  will  hold  you  in  good  stead  in  your 
present  plight  and  I know  that  you  will  weather  your  present  mis- 
fortune, as  the  Courier  says,  you  have  weathered  many  others  in 
your  life. 

Both  my  son  and  myself  extend  our  greatest  sympathy  to  you 
and  pray  that  you  will  fully  recover  from  your  present  illness 
which  we  deeply  regret. 

Hoping  that  we  may  hear  at  an  early  date,  that  you  are  fast 
on  the  road  to  recovery,  I remain.  Your  sincere  friend, 

Horace  W.  Stowe. 


New  York,  March  3d,  1913. 

My  Dear  McTammany:  I was  amazed  to  learn  last  Saturday 

from  Behnings  that  you  were  at  the  Soldiers*  Hospital.  The 
gentlemen  at  Behnings  then  told  me  that  by  the  trade  papers  he 
had  seen  about  your  being  at  the  soldiers’  home.  Let  me  know 
full  particulars  as  soon  as  you  are  able.  The  main  thing,  how- 
ever, is  take  good  care  of  yourself  and  do  not  attempt  to  rush 

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HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 

things,  as  we  live  but  once.  Kind  regards,  and  if  you  have  any- 
thing to  suggest  that  I should  do  in  your  behalf  please  let  me  know. 

Very  sincerely, 

Adolph  Sambalino, 

Gen.  Manager,  John  R.  Walladsen  & Co. 


My  Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  I just  learned  today  that  you  are 

ill  and  confined  in  a hospital.  Am  sorry  to  hear  this,  and  hope 
that  you  will  soon  be  out  again  enjoying  your  usual  good  health. 
Come  and  see  us  when  you  can.  Shall  promise  to  have  a generous 
lot  of  your  favorite  magazines.  With  all  best  wishes. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

H.  L.  Hunt, 

Manager  Oliver  Ditson  & Co., 

8 East  Thirty-fourth  St.,  New  York, 


AN  INSPIRING  EXAMPLE. 

“Every  once  in  a while  there  comes  into  my  experience  an  inci- 
dent that  stirs  my  soul  to  its  very  depths.  At  the  recent  conference 
at  Stamford,  there  was  present  a man  who  has  been  in  the  very 
forefront  of  the  fight  against  alcohol  for  more  than  a generation. 
His  fortune — and  it  was  considerable  at  one  time — has  been  devoted 
to  the  advancement  of  the  cause.  He  has  been  an  inventor  of 
many  labor  saving  mechanical  appliances,  but  now,  in  his  declining 
years  while  his  mind  is  still  vigorous,  but  with  bodily  ailments, 
he  is  spending  the  sunset  of  his  life  in  the  military  hospital  at 
Noroton  Heights,  Conn.  Only  the  pension  of  $8.00  per  month  he 
receives  from  the  government  is  his  income,  and  out  of  this  meagre 
sum  he  gives  $1.00  per  month  for  the  Prohibition  cause.” — E.  L.  G. 
Hohenthal,  State  chairman,  in  The  Vindicator,  national  organ  of 
the  Prohibition  party. 


FROM  PIANO  AND  PLAYER  MANUFACTURERS. 

“My  Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  We  only  learned  of  your  illness 

today  and  hasten  to  tender  you  our  sincere  sympathy  and  hope  for 
your  speedy  recovery.” — Behning  Piano  Company,  New  York  City. 


“Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  I have  just  learned  of  your  illness, 
which  I sincerely  regret.  I am  sending  you  by  mail  a book  with 
my  compliments.  Hoping  this  will  find  you  on  the  road  to  Well- 
ville,  with  good  wishes,  I remain,  yours  truly,  C.  E.  Brockington, 
with  Mason  & Hamlin  Company,  New  York.” 


“It  was  with  great  sorrow  that  we  learned  of  your  present  ill- 
ness. As  the  musical  journal  say,  you  are  the  ‘grand  old  man’  of 
the  player  industry.  Enclosed  please  find  check  for  $50  with  our 
compliments.” — (Signed)  (julbransen-Dickinson  Company,  Chicago, 

111. 


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HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


“Dear  Mr.  McTammany:  We  only  learned  of  your  illness  today 

and  hasten  to  tender  you  our  sincere  sympathy  and  hope  for  your 
speedy  recovery,  and  trust  that  your  life  may  be  prolonged  for 
many  years  to  come.  Sincerely  yours,  (signed)  The  Laffrague  Com- 
pany, L.  M.  Ide,  treasurer.” 


FROM  THE  PRESS. 

“Clippings  from  the  Connecticut  papers  state  that  Comrade  John 
McTammany  was  stricken  Feb.  19  with  paralysis  at  his  home  in 
Stamford,  Conn.,  and  is  now  in  the  Soldiers’  Hospital  at  Noroton 
Heights,  Conn.  This  will  be  melancholy  news  to>  comrades  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  who  know  and  love  Comrade  McTammany 
for  his  warm  fraternity,  his  unflagging  loyalty  and  the  great  credit 
he  has  brought  upon  the  citizen  soldiers  by  his  brilliant  success  in 
life.” — National  Tribune,  Washington,  D.  C. 


“An  account  of  the  sudden  illness  of  John  McTammany,  inventor 
and  musician,  appears  in  a Chicago  paper.  Mr.  McTammany  has 
led  a busy  life  on  his  numerous  inventions,  and  had  the  misfortune 
to  be  compelled  to  fight  his  way  through  the  courts  to  hold  them. 
He  has  gone  through  enough  to  kill  three  or  four  average  men.” — 
Chronicle,  Carrollton,  Ohio. 


“A  PROHIBITION  HERO.” 

“The  Stamford  banquet.  Even  John  McTammany  left  the  hos- 
pital to  grace  the  occasion  and  act  as  toastmaster  of  the  evening. 
He  is  one  of  the  few  remaining  who  suffered  and  sacrified  for  the 
cause  and  one  of  the  men  we  delight  to  honor  at  our  national  con- 
vention every  four  years.” — The  Vindicator,  Franklin,  Pa. 


DISTINGUISHED  AMERICAN  INVENTOR. 

“There  was  something  pathetic  in  the  eviction,  this  week,  of  John 
McTammany  from'  the  factory  he  conducted  for  years  at  the  South 
End.  Mr.  McTammany  was  in  the  hospital  when  the  constable 
removed  the  Organette  plant  to  the  street  to  be  taken  in  charge  by 
the  city  authorities,  there  being  no  one  else  to  take  care  of  it. 
Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  facts  of  Mr.  McTammany’s  life 
miist  realize  that  he  deserves  a place  among  distinguished  American 
inventors.  He  was  the  inventor  of  the  first  voting  machine,  the 
pneumatic  tabulating  system  and  the  father  of  mechanical  music 
devices,  etc.” — The  Daily  Advocate,  Stamford,  Conn. 

I have  quoted  all  classes  and  conditions  of  people,  from 
the  farmer  following  the  plow  to  the  president  of  the 
National  Piano  Manufacturers’  Association;  music  houses 
and  publishers,  who  stand  at  the  very  pinnacle  of  their  re- 
spective trades,  editors  of  national  renown,  the  greatest 
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HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAYER 


living  reformers  of  our  time,  and  leading  generals  of  our 
civil  war,  papers  and  periodicals  of  the  widest  circulation, 
as  well  as  the  humble  mechanic  who  earns  his  little  pit- 
tance by  the  sweat  of  his  honest  face,  great  men  and  noble 
women,  each  and  all  of  whom  bear  witness  to  my  work 
and  worth.  And  I could  quote  thousands  more,  yet  there 
is  no  class  of  people  in  the  country  today  who  know  so 
little  about  the  writer  and  his  work  as  the  music  trade,  and 
what  little  they  do  know  is  misleading,  thanks  to  a portion 
of  the  music  trade  press.  Do  not  wonder,  therefore,  if  I 
avail  myself  of  this,  the  first  opportunity  to  offer  a state- 
ment as  a sort  of  defence  against  the  misrepresentations 
that  have  appeared  for  many  years. 


;:v  :;;}'r^  y 


